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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. court — of a king
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. season — of the year
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. court — of law
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. rule — a law
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — not warm
  24. court — for sport

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