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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. sharp — clever
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. dip — to sink
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. perch — the fish
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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