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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: court · charge · pitcher · chair · prune · jam · wax · clip

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — of a king
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — a price
  6. clip — a video
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — for sport
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. court — of law
  20. clip — for paper
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a leader
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. charge — electricity

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