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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. squash — the sport
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. track — a song
  6. shower — to wash
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chest — a box
  9. kid — child
  10. staff — employees
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. staff — a stick
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. track — a path
  20. kid — to tease
  21. wax — to grow
  22. staff — employees
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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