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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · kick · wax · content · court · shower · ball · trunk

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — in football
  3. court — for sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ball — a dance
  7. shower — rain
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wax — to grow
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. content — happy
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. content — the amount

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