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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: current · field · mug · pitcher · court · wax · face · clip

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. court — of a king
  3. mug — to rob
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mug — a face
  6. court — of law
  7. current — electric
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. field — a subject
  12. clip — for paper
  13. court — for sport
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — for sport
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. field — farmland
  24. clip — to cut

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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