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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: land · chair · game · racket · wax · net · patient · cap

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. land — a country
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. net — in sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. land — ground
  17. net — after costs
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. game — a match
  23. cap — a hat
  24. wax — to grow

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