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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 · stick · wave · roll · mug · wax · mate · land

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. roll — a list
  8. land — a country
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — to breed
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. land — ground
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a cup
  17. roll — a cake
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. mate — a partner
  23. land — to come down
  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