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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. deal — a big deal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. pit — a hole
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bass — low music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. field — for sport
  14. deal — to handle
  15. field — farmland
  16. pit — in a race
  17. bass — the fish
  18. field — a subject
  19. chest — a box
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rash — a series
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bass — the instrument
  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