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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wax — to grow
  9. face — part of the head
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. swing — in golf
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. spring — the season
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. court — of a king
  19. face — to confront
  20. court — of law
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. vault — a safe
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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