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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 · stick · last · bear · march · bat · wax · content

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — for sport
  4. last — finally
  5. march — the month
  6. court — of law
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. content — happy
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. content — the amount
  18. court — of a king
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — the animal
  23. march — music
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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