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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. land — to come down
  3. hand — help
  4. wax — to grow
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of a king
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — all right
  11. land — a country
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. content — the amount
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — a grade
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — the season
  20. fine — high quality
  21. land — ground
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. content — happy
  24. court — for sport

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