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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 120 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: object · fork · cold · bear · wax · court · pitcher · chest

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — to protest
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — for sport
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. court — of a king
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chest — a box
  22. object — a thing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. court — of law

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