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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. row — a line
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. drill — army training
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. drill — the tool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. degree — temperature
  23. drill — a practice
  24. degree — from a university

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