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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. charge — electricity
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. chip — for betting
  9. vault — a safe
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. charge — a price
  23. wound — an injury
  24. charge — in control

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