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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. firm — decided
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chair — a leader
  5. firm — steady
  6. pop — to visit
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pop — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — from a university
  16. pop — soda
  17. sharp — clever
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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