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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: court · spell · stick · ground · wax · file · season · kick

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — to grow
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. file — a document
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. spell — magic
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. ground — crushed
  13. court — of a king
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — a position
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. court — of law
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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