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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.

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: chest · wax · straw · court · arm · leaves · stock · face

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. face — to point toward
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — goods
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — shares
  14. wax — to grow
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. face — to confront
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. court — of a king

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