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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. court — of law
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. key — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. chair — a leader
  12. scale — size or range
  13. file — a tool
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. stand — to bear
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wax — to grow
  19. key — for a lock
  20. scale — in music
  21. kick — in football
  22. file — a document
  23. stand — on your feet
  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