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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: lie · stem · mark · court · shower · content · clip · wax

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. court — of law
  6. shower — rain
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mark — a grade
  17. wax — to grow
  18. content — happy
  19. shower — to wash
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — the amount
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. wax — in the ear

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