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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — of a king
  4. wax — to grow
  5. board — to get on
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — a committee
  10. wind — moving air
  11. drill — the tool
  12. court — of law
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — army training
  18. saw — the tool
  19. last — to go on
  20. staff — employees
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. staff — employees
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. staff — a stick

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