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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. court — of a king
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. court — of law
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — wild animals
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — for sport
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. game — a match
  18. pit — in a race

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