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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: date · court · branch · row · bore · game · club · wax

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bore — to tire
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. club — for dancing
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. date — the fruit
  15. club — for golf
  16. game — wild animals
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. row — a line
  20. branch — a division
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bore — to drill
  24. wax — for sculpting

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