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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 116 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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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: club · court · board · firm · scale · stock · sharp · wax

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — to grow
  3. firm — steady
  4. court — for sport
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. court — of law
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. club — a group
  9. firm — decided
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. board — to get on
  14. firm — a company
  15. board — a committee
  16. court — of a king
  17. scale — size or range
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. club — for golf
  21. scale — in music
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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