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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.

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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: bowl · wax · last · bore · game · chair · plane · capital

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. capital — a city
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wax — to grow
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. plane — a tool
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. capital — money
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bore — to tire
  21. game — a match
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. last — final

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