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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: chest · chair · sharp · date · leaves · wax · wound · bulb

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chest — a box
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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