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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. row — a line
  6. firm — decided
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — of a king
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. row — to paddle
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. firm — a company
  15. kick — in football
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. court — of law
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. firm — steady
  24. chair — a professorship

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