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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — finally
  3. last — final
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chair — a leader
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. last — to go on
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. court — for sport
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cue — for pool
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. court — of a king
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cue — a signal

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