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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: land · wax · chip · mine · spell · arm · court · mark

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. court — of law
  3. spell — a short time
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. land — to come down
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mark — a trace
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chip — to eat
  19. court — for sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spell — magic
  22. land — ground
  23. mark — a grade
  24. spell — letters

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