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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 120 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a leader
  3. band — a ring
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pit — a hole
  10. key — in music
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wax — to grow
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. key — for a lock
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. key — the most important part
  24. arm — a part of something

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