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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. mate — a friend
  11. court — for sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. can — a tin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. mate — a partner
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. can — a tin
  21. kid — child
  22. court — of law
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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