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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — to go on
  5. hand — help
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spell — letters
  9. rest — a break
  10. court — of law
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hand — in cards
  13. court — for sport
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. court — of a king
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — final
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rest — what's left

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