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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: can · wax · chair · scale · cell · charge · wound · bear

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. charge — electricity
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. charge — a price
  7. can — a tin
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. can — to be able to
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. charge — in control
  21. wax — to grow
  22. scale — in music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. can — a tin

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