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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. scale — in music
  9. march — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — the month
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ruler — for measuring

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