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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rest — a break
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fall — to drop
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fall — to drop
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — the season
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. arm — part of the body

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