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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: lie · foot · court · march · game · mark · clip · wax

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. clip — for paper
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. clip — a video
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. clip — to cut
  10. game — a match
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. mark — a grade
  13. game — wild animals
  14. march — the month
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. lie — to recline
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. court — for sport
  20. march — the month
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mark — a trace

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