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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. chest — a box
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. charge — a price
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. charge — in control
  13. wax — to grow
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. charge — electricity
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wake — a trail

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