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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mate — a friend
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. mate — a partner
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — not warm
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. charge — in control
  22. deal — to handle
  23. charge — a price
  24. safe — out of danger

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