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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. rash — a series
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — to tease
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chest — a box
  12. rash — hasty
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kid — child
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of law
  24. rash — on the skin

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