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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. court — of law
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. kid — child
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. row — a line
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — to tease

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