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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. mug — a face
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mug — to rob
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wax — to grow
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. band — a music group
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mark — a trace

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