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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bass — low music
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. court — of law
  13. wax — to grow
  14. hand — help
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. court — for sport
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bass — the fish

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