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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. charge — a price
  5. last — final
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bore — to drill
  8. last — finally
  9. can — a tin
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. can — a tin
  13. court — of a king
  14. charge — in control
  15. court — of law
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — for sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. last — to go on

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