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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: wax · perch · ball · court · cell · bat · cold · foot

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — an illness
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ball — a great time
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ball — a dance
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. court — for sport
  11. perch — the fish
  12. court — of a king
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. court — of law
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. foot — a measure

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