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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. present — a gift
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. present — the time now
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. hand — help
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rash — a series
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — there
  24. wax — to grow

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