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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a music group
  13. mark — a grade
  14. plane — a tool
  15. fine — all right
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. mark — a trace
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — to grow
  24. plane — an aircraft

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