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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. shower — rain
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bound — tied together
  8. degree — an amount
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wound — an injury
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. can — a tin
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wax — to grow
  18. can — a tin
  19. bound — obliged
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bound — certain

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