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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: hand · bore · row · court · can · lean · face · wax

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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. hand — help
  4. court — for sport
  5. can — a tin
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. row — a line
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. can — to be able to
  12. face — to confront
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. hand — in cards
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wax — to grow
  21. can — a tin
  22. lean — thin
  23. bore — to drill
  24. row — to paddle

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