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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. key — in music
  3. plane — a tool
  4. key — for a lock
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. kid — child
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. kid — to tease
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. key — the most important part
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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