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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. present — the time now
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. court — of law
  8. rock — music
  9. clip — to cut
  10. club — for dancing
  11. last — finally
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rock — a stone
  15. club — for golf
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — a video
  19. present — a gift
  20. fall — the season
  21. present — there
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. club — a group

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