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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: date · straw · file · key · hide · wax · court · kick

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. key — in music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. kick — in football
  21. court — of law
  22. key — for a lock
  23. file — a document
  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