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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. scale — size or range
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — a position
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ground — crushed
  13. scale — in music
  14. chest — a box
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wake — before a funeral

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