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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
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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: wax · capital · present · mine · court · temple · lie · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. court — for sport
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lie — to recline
  6. mine — for digging
  7. capital — a city
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. present — the time now
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. present — a gift
  16. court — of law
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. present — there
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. court — of a king

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