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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. charge — a price
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mug — to rob
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. charge — in control
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. charge — electricity
  24. mug — a face

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