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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
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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: craft · court · season · fine · cold · chest · wax · ball

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a great time
  8. court — of law
  9. ball — a dance
  10. court — of a king
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fine — high quality
  15. court — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fine — all right
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. season — of the year
  24. cold — an illness

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