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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pop — music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. spell — letters
  5. pop — to visit
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. net — for catching
  8. spell — magic
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — in sport
  12. spell — a short time
  13. net — after costs
  14. field — for sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. field — farmland
  18. pop — soda

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