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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chair — a leader
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. wax — to grow
  13. court — of law
  14. clip — a video
  15. court — for sport
  16. clip — to cut
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. content — happy
  24. clip — for paper

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