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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — a weight
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. scale — in music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stock — goods
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. ball — a great time

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