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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · wax · mouse · face · land · kid · wound · court

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. land — ground
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. face — to point toward
  5. land — to come down
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. land — a country
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. track — a path
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kid — to tease
  15. track — a song
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of law
  18. face — to confront
  19. court — for sport
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. kid — child
  24. court — of a king

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