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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: patient · game · squash · wax · nail · chair · kid · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — to grow
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. kid — to tease
  9. game — wild animals
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a match
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. kid — child
  20. squash — to crush
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chair — a professorship

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