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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. land — ground
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. ball — a dance
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. land — a country
  11. ball — a great time
  12. band — a music group
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. court — for sport
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pop — music
  18. land — to come down
  19. tube — a container
  20. court — of law
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pop — to visit
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. ball — a round shape

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