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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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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: key · race · wax · band · ground · kid · chair · lie

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. ground — the earth
  8. key — for a lock
  9. key — the most important part
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. key — in music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. race — a contest
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chair — a leader
  22. kid — to tease
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. band — a music group

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