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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wax — to grow
  4. march — the month
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. court — of law
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. last — finally
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. march — the month
  11. last — to go on
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. last — final
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — music
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — to rip

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