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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cell — in biology
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rash — a series
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. net — after costs
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. cell — a phone
  19. shower — rain
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. net — for catching
  23. net — in sport
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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