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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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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — part of the head
  7. charge — a price
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kid — child
  15. craft — boats
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. charge — in control
  20. craft — a skill
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — to point toward
  24. branch — a division

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