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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kick — in football
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wax — to grow
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of law
  15. content — happy
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. court — of a king

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