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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.

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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: race · trunk · club · wax · last · net · can · court

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. club — for golf
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. court — for sport
  5. race — a contest
  6. court — of law
  7. net — after costs
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. net — for catching
  10. race — the arms race
  11. last — final
  12. club — a group
  13. wax — to grow
  14. last — finally
  15. net — in sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. court — of a king
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. race — humankind
  22. club — for dancing
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. can — to be able to

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