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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · mate · bound · mine · straw · chair · ruler · wax

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bass — low music
  7. mate — a partner
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mate — a friend
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bound — certain
  20. chair — a leader
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bass — the fish
  24. ruler — for measuring

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