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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — an amount
  10. present — there
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. lean — to bend
  17. band — a music group
  18. present — the time now
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. present — a gift
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. band — a ring
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wax — in the ear

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