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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. squash — to crush
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rule — government
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. spring — the season
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. kid — child
  14. squash — the sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — for catching
  22. wax — to grow
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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