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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
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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 · craft · content · wax · cold · kid · rush · plane

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. plane — a tool
  8. craft — boats
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — an illness
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. content — the amount
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. content — happy
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chair — a leader

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