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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bass — low music
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cell — a phone
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. mark — a grade
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bass — the fish

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