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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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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: snap · field · lie · chair · court · wind · cabinet · wax

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — a subject
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. field — for sport
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. court — for sport
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. court — of law
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. court — of a king
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wax — in the ear

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