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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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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: court · ruler · content · tear · bay · race · wax · arm

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. court — of law
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. court — of a king
  10. wax — to grow
  11. content — happy
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. content — the amount
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. race — a contest
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. race — the arms race
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — from crying

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