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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. drill — army training
  4. chip — to eat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. chip — for betting
  8. date — the fruit
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. drill — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. net — for catching
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. net — after costs
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — farmland
  24. date — on the calendar

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