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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'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. firm — decided
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pop — to visit
  12. file — a document
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. kid — child
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pit — a hole
  19. firm — a company
  20. hand — in cards
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. file — a tool
  23. wax — to grow
  24. file — a line of people

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