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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: board · spring · mine · court · wax · track · row · hide

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. board — a committee
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a line
  14. track — a song
  15. wax — to grow
  16. court — of a king
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. track — a path
  19. board — to get on
  20. spring — of water
  21. track — to keep track
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mine — for digging
  24. spring — the season

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