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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: land · ball · last · wax · roll · hide · firm · court

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — to come down
  4. last — final
  5. court — of law
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — finally
  9. firm — steady
  10. roll — a list
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. last — to go on
  17. ball — a great time
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. firm — a company
  21. land — ground
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. roll — a cake
  24. land — a country

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