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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. sharp — clever
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. drill — a practice
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. root — of a word
  8. hand — help
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. can — a tin
  12. root — the cause
  13. hand — in cards
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — of a plant
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — for sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wax — to grow
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. court — of law
  23. court — of a king
  24. can — a tin

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