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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. march — the month
  3. net — for catching
  4. last — finally
  5. march — music
  6. wax — to grow
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. bore — to tire
  10. net — in sport
  11. bore — to drill
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. present — a gift
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — for sport
  18. present — there
  19. net — after costs
  20. court — of law
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. board — a committee

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