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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. band — a music group
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. band — a ring
  7. field — farmland
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stock — shares
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. key — in music
  15. field — for sport
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. field — a subject
  20. stock — goods
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. court — of a king
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wax — in the ear

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