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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 120 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: face · ground · wax · game · mine · object · squash · court

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ground — a position
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. face — to point toward
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — for digging
  15. face — to confront
  16. game — a match
  17. object — to protest
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — the earth
  20. game — wild animals
  21. ground — crushed
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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