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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. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pit — in a race
  3. court — of a king
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. march — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. march — the month
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. court — of law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pit — a hole
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. march — the month

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