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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. court — of a king
  3. craft — boats
  4. craft — a skill
  5. last — finally
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. wax — to grow
  10. last — to go on
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. root — of a word
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. court — for sport
  24. wax — in the ear

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