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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 120 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: temple · court · wax · clip · land · cell · chair · saw

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. land — ground
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. court — of a king
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — of law
  13. clip — a video
  14. land — a country
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — to come down
  23. court — for sport
  24. saw — the tool

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