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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. court — of a king
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — of law
  10. wax — to grow
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — goods
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — shares
  18. chest — of your body

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