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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. court — for sport
  3. squash — the sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wax — to grow
  7. key — for a lock
  8. pop — to visit
  9. key — in music
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — of a king
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. court — of law
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. racket — for tennis

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