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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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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 · row · chair · mine · toast · face · craft · ground

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. wax — to grow
  5. row — a line
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. face — part of the head
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. face — to confront
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — a skill
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. ground — the earth
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. toast — bread
  19. ground — a position
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. face — to point toward
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ground — crushed
  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