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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chair — a leader
  5. degree — an amount
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — from a university
  9. fine — all right
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bat — the animal
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spell — magic
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. degree — temperature

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