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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · racket · hand · cabinet · court · row · wax · prune

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a line
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. content — the amount
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. court — of law
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. court — of a king
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. court — for sport

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