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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: spell · calf · mine · chair · wax · court · roll · game

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. roll — a cake
  3. spell — a short time
  4. court — of law
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. spell — magic
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. roll — a list
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. wax — to grow
  13. game — a match
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spell — letters
  16. court — for sport
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. game — wild animals
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chair — a leader
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — of a king

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