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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. ball — a great time
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. craft — boats
  8. wound — an injury
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — to cut
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ball — a dance
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. cap — of ice
  23. craft — a skill
  24. chest — of your 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