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

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — in cards

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