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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: deal · calf · march · cold · wax · chair · foot · bowl

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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. march — the month
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chair — a leader
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. foot — a measure
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. march — music
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. bowl — a dish

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