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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: cold · mark · wax · wound · chair · bore · suit · present

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. cold — not warm
  4. chair — a leader
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. mark — a trace
  12. present — there
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mark — a grade
  20. present — a gift
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bore — to tire

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