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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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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: bank · fine · kid · racket · wax · tear · chair · march

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tear — to rip
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — child
  9. fine — all right
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bank — for money
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bank — for money
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bank — of a river
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. march — music
  24. wax — to grow

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