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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rush — hurry
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. wax — to grow
  13. key — in music
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pop — soda
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. key — the most important part

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