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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.

Make a worksheet

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: shower · court · chair · stick · fan · rule · wax · game

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. game — a match
  8. rule — a law
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rule — government
  15. shower — to wash
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. court — of a king
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wax — to grow

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