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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. season — in sport
  5. swing — music
  6. band — a music group
  7. wax — to grow
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of a king
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — goods
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — in golf
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. swing — to play on
  22. band — a ring
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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