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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cue — for pool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bound — certain
  11. shower — rain
  12. degree — temperature
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cue — a signal
  17. drill — the tool
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bound — obliged
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. drill — army training
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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