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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. band — a ring
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wax — to grow
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. fine — all right
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. band — a music group
  15. fine — high quality
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. land — a country
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. land — to come down
  20. foot — a measure
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. march — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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