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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. degree — an amount
  6. object — a thing
  7. spring — of water
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chest — a box
  12. spell — magic
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spell — letters
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. degree — temperature
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. spring — the season
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wax — to grow

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