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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 116 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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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 · capital · vault · bound · deal · wax · tear · club

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bound — tied together
  3. wax — to grow
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. club — for dancing
  6. capital — a city
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. deal — to handle
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — money
  16. club — for golf
  17. bound — obliged
  18. chair — a leader
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. club — a group
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bound — certain
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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