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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. ball — a dance
  3. court — of a king
  4. board — to get on
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. court — for sport
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — a city
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wax — to grow
  15. file — a document
  16. pound — a weight
  17. board — a committee
  18. capital — money
  19. file — a line of people
  20. ball — a great time
  21. file — a tool
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wax — in the ear

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