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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. court — of a king
  7. scale — size or range
  8. board — to get on
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. court — of law
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — a hint
  18. court — for sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — in music
  24. cue — for pool

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