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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. court — of a king
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. present — there
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rock — music
  10. present — the time now
  11. file — a document
  12. hand — help
  13. court — of law
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. present — a gift
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. court — for sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rock — a stone
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. straw — a straw man

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