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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. band — a music group
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. spring — the season
  6. capital — a city
  7. firm — decided
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — of a king
  10. firm — a company
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a ring
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spring — of water
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — a coil
  21. firm — steady
  22. capital — money
  23. court — for sport
  24. court — of law

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