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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. fine — high quality
  3. lie — to recline
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. court — of a king
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. court — for sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. court — of law
  19. row — a line
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fine — all right

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