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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wax — to grow
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cap — of ice
  12. ground — crushed
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. saw — the tool
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — of law
  24. cap — a hat

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