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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 · charge · wax · mug · drill · court · root · clip

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — help
  4. clip — a video
  5. court — for sport
  6. root — the cause
  7. clip — for paper
  8. court — of a king
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mug — to rob
  13. drill — a practice
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. root — of a plant
  17. clip — to cut
  18. root — of a word
  19. mug — a face
  20. drill — army training
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. wax — to grow
  24. charge — a price

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