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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cell — in biology
  3. charge — in control
  4. band — a ring
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. season — of the year
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — a city
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. cell — a phone
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wax — to grow
  16. rush — hurry
  17. season — in sport
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. charge — electricity
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. charge — a price
  23. capital — money
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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