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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mine — for digging
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. roll — a list
  5. spell — magic
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. degree — temperature
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wax — to grow
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. spell — letters

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