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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: pitcher · court · spell · wax · stock · face · ball · row

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. ball — a great time
  5. stock — goods
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. face — to point toward
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — part of the head
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. row — to paddle
  16. face — to confront
  17. spell — letters
  18. court — of a king
  19. spell — magic
  20. row — a line
  21. wax — to grow
  22. court — of law
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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