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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. season — in sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. rest — what's left
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. court — for sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — a container
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. field — for sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. court — of law
  17. drill — army training
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. hand — in cards
  22. rest — what's left
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wax — to grow

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