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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. court — of a king
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — a law
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rule — government
  16. track — a path
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. kick — in football
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wax — to grow
  22. court — of law
  23. track — a song
  24. deal — to handle

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