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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. sharp — clever
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. race — the arms race
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wax — to grow
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. cell — in biology
  22. foot — a measure
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. foot — part of the body

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