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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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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. court — of a king
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. band — a ring
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. board — a committee
  8. band — a music group
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. court — of law
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. board — to get on
  15. capital — a city
  16. court — for sport
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. capital — money
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. row — a quarrel

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