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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fine — all right
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. band — a ring
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. face — to confront
  13. face — to point toward
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — high quality
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. band — a music group
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. patient — a sick person

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