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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rest — a break
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chest — a box
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — to grow

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