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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. clip — for paper
  3. race — the arms race
  4. clip — a video
  5. lean — thin
  6. court — for sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. firm — a company
  10. wax — to grow
  11. firm — decided
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. firm — steady
  15. court — of law
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to bend
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. race — humankind
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. race — a contest
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wax — in the ear

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