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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · court · toast · chest · race · chair · hide · wax

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — electric
  3. chair — a leader
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. toast — bread
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. current — of water
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — humankind
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. court — of a king
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com