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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: saw · chair · wax · land · foot · lean · field · temple

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. saw — the tool
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — ground
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. foot — a measure
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — a subject
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — for sport
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. field — farmland
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — to come down
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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