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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: hand · chair · bark · net · season · wax · chip · bore

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. season — in sport
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. season — of the year
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chip — to eat
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chip — for betting
  15. net — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. hand — help
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — in a computer

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