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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. band — a ring
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. root — of a word
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. root — the cause
  10. present — a gift
  11. root — of a plant
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. present — the time now
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. game — a match
  19. band — a music group
  20. row — a line
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. present — there
  24. game — wild animals

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