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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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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: wax · ground · chair · squash · rest · bear · cue · swing

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cue — a signal
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. chair — a leader
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rest — a break
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. squash — to crush
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ground — crushed
  14. squash — the sport
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cue — a hint
  19. swing — music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ground — a position
  23. bear — the animal
  24. ground — the earth

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