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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. race — the arms race
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wax — to grow
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. field — for sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. wound — an injury
  12. field — farmland
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. race — humankind
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. field — a subject
  17. march — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of a king
  24. wax — for sculpting

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