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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. club — for golf
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pop — music
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. court — of a king
  17. club — a group
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. pop — soda
  22. kid — child
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spring — of water

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