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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. land — a country
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. board — a committee
  9. craft — a skill
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — of law
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. craft — boats
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. board — to get on
  18. craft — a handicraft

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