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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: bass · trunk · court · foot · land · wax · current · tear

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. court — of law
  3. land — ground
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. bass — the fish
  7. court — of a king
  8. tear — to rip
  9. land — a country
  10. current — happening now
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — for sport
  19. bass — low music
  20. current — of water
  21. current — electric
  22. land — to come down
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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