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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. file — a document
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bass — low music
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — in sport
  16. file — a tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — for sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stand — on your feet

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