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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: race · pitcher · court · stock · sharp · club · patient · wax

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. race — a contest
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. club — for golf
  7. race — humankind
  8. stock — goods
  9. sharp — clever
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. court — of law
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — shares
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. club — a group
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. court — for sport
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. sharp — exactly

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