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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. kid — child
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mark — a trace
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mine — for digging
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mark — a grade

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