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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: game · swing · court · mate · cap · fall · bank · wax

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cap — a lid
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mate — a friend
  11. bank — of a river
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. game — a match
  15. cap — a hat
  16. bank — for money
  17. swing — music
  18. bank — for money
  19. court — of law
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. fall — to drop

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