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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stem — to come from
  4. court — for sport
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. court — of a king
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pound — a weight
  22. charge — a price
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mark — a trace

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