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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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468
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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stand — to bear
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. swing — to play on
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. court — for sport
  12. swing — music
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. game — a match
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cell — a phone
  21. court — of a king
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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