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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: pop · tear · chest · saw · last · mark · chair · wax

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. last — finally
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. tear — to rip
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chest — a box
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pop — to visit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pop — music
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. last — final
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. last — to go on

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