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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. roll — a cake
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. mate — to breed
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tear — to rip
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kick — in football
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. content — the amount
  24. kick — a thrill

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