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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: chair · cabinet · ground · nail · kid · trunk · wax · club

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ground — the earth
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. club — for dancing
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. club — a group

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