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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: bark · wax · court · arm · face · spell · cap · pound

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spell — letters
  4. face — to confront
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — a short time
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — to shout
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. spell — magic
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. court — of law
  24. face — to point toward

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