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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. court — of law
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. court — of a king
  18. pitcher — a jug

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