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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — to grow
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. scale — in music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. swing — music
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — a container
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — of law
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. hand — help

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