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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 120 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cap — a hat
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. cap — a lid
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. ground — the earth
  12. court — for sport
  13. tube — the underground
  14. ground — a position
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tube — a container

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