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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. vault — a safe
  4. mate — to breed
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — of a king
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. prune — to trim
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. court — for sport
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. court — of law
  17. mate — a partner
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — to point toward
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. mate — a friend

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