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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. swing — music
  5. firm — a company
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. firm — decided
  9. wax — to grow
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. craft — boats
  18. court — for sport
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. swing — in golf
  22. firm — steady
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. swing — to play on

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