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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — to wash
  4. land — a country
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. shower — rain
  10. net — in sport
  11. land — to come down
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. court — of a king
  15. rule — a law
  16. net — after costs
  17. rule — government
  18. court — for sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. land — ground
  23. net — for catching
  24. wax — to grow

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