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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a music group
  4. court — for sport
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rule — a law
  14. court — of law
  15. band — a ring
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — the tool
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. rule — government
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — a practice
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. deal — a big deal

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