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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 120 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wound — an injury
  8. squash — the sport
  9. mark — a grade
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. cap — a lid
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. squash — to crush
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. wound — an injury
  20. kid — to tease
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — a hat

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