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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: court · wax · track · sharp · race · fan · last · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. race — the arms race
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. sharp — clever
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. race — humankind
  16. wax — to grow
  17. court — for sport
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — finally
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. fan — a supporter

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