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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. root — of a word
  3. wax — to grow
  4. file — a document
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. root — of a plant
  8. root — the cause
  9. current — electric
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. file — a tool

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