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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: wax · court · firm · current · land · ground · mine · rule

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. current — electric
  4. ground — crushed
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. current — happening now
  8. firm — steady
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — a position
  12. wax — to grow
  13. land — ground
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. rule — a law
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — for sport
  19. mine — for digging
  20. rule — government
  21. current — of water
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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