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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: wax · arm · court · chair · content · drill · spell · rest

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spell — a short time
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. court — for sport
  10. wax — to grow
  11. court — of law
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rest — a break
  15. court — of a king
  16. rest — what's left
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. chair — a leader

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