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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: hand · kid · court · row · cue · wax · charge · track

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kid — child
  4. court — of law
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. court — for sport
  7. cue — for pool
  8. hand — in cards
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cue — a signal
  12. court — of a king
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cue — a hint
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wax — to grow
  17. hand — help
  18. charge — in control
  19. row — a line
  20. track — a path
  21. row — to paddle
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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