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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 116 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: bear · bark · ball · clip · chair · rule · mate · wax

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. ball — a great time
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rule — government
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bark — to shout
  21. clip — a video
  22. rule — a law
  23. mate — a friend
  24. ball — a round shape

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