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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. court — for sport
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. content — the amount
  7. kid — child
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. content — happy
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. court — of a king
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wake — a trail
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. band — a ring
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. wax — in the ear
  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