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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: band · spell · court · kick · land · chair · wax · branch

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spell — letters
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spell — a short time
  7. court — of law
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spell — magic
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. court — of a king
  18. land — a country
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wax — to grow
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — to come down
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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