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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. court — of a king
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. saw — the tool

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