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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. court — of law
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a music group
  6. club — a group
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stand — to bear
  12. club — for dancing
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. court — for sport
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. court — of a king
  24. stand — on your feet

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