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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wax — to grow
  4. key — the most important part
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. key — in music
  8. pop — music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pop — to visit
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. drill — army training
  23. pop — soda
  24. cell — in biology

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