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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. court — of law
  5. cap — a lid
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cap — of ice
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. band — a ring
  13. pit — in a race
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cap — a hat
  16. court — of a king
  17. pit — a hole
  18. court — for sport
  19. game — a match
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mark — a trace
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wax — to grow

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