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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: chair · game · bat · kick · race · cabinet · wax · straw

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. game — a match
  5. race — humankind
  6. game — wild animals
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bat — the animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wax — to grow
  17. race — a contest
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kick — in football
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chair — to sit on

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