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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. hand — in cards
  10. court — of a king
  11. rush — hurry
  12. ball — a great time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. net — in sport
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. net — after costs
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. hand — help
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. march — music
  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