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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — child
  6. court — of a king
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — to grow
  10. march — the month
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mate — a friend
  13. court — for sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. march — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of law
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rash — a series

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