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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pop — music
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. content — happy
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pop — soda
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. content — the amount
  14. swing — in golf
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. swing — music
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pop — to visit
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — videos and posts
  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