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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.

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: fan · kick · court · net · pass · fine · mate · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. court — of a king
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fine — all right
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. kick — in football
  10. court — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. net — in sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. net — after costs
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. mate — a friend
  22. court — of law
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. fine — high quality

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