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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: ball · wax · bass · court · content · chair · rock · stem

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. ball — a great time
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. content — happy
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. rock — music
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. court — of a king
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bass — the fish
  18. ball — a dance
  19. court — for sport
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. bass — low music
  22. content — the amount
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — of a plant

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