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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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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: tear · wax · lean · mug · court · kid · fork · land

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. lean — to bend
  3. court — for sport
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mug — a cup
  6. land — a country
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. kid — child
  9. land — ground
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. court — of law
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mug — a face
  15. lean — thin
  16. mug — to rob
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — to tease
  21. court — of a king
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. tear — from crying
  24. land — to come down

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