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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. court — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. date — the fruit
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. rash — a series
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. current — electric

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