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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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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: hand · roll · dip · net · perch · face · wax · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — a cake
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. hand — in cards
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. court — of law
  15. dip — to sink
  16. face — to confront
  17. court — of a king
  18. net — after costs
  19. face — to point toward
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. net — in sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — help
  24. face — part of the head

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