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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 120 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: ruler · rock · root · wax · bat · suit · chair · land

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. land — to come down
  8. suit — in cards
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. root — of a plant
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. suit — to fit
  13. bat — the animal
  14. land — ground
  15. suit — clothes
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. root — of a word
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rock — a stone
  21. land — a country
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. root — the cause
  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