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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: content · court · chair · branch · band · jam · straw · wax

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. court — of law
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. court — of a king
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. band — a ring
  13. content — the amount
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. band — a music group
  17. content — happy
  18. wax — to grow
  19. court — for sport
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. branch — a division
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. straw — a straw man

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