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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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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: court · bound · hand · wax · row · key · season · prune

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bound — tied together
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. key — in music
  6. wax — to grow
  7. court — of law
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — of a king
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. row — to paddle
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bound — obliged
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. court — for sport
  24. bound — certain

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