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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. staff — a stick
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wound — an injury
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. staff — employees
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. staff — employees
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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