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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — child
  3. charge — electricity
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. degree — an amount
  6. march — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. charge — in control
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. charge — a price
  14. march — the month
  15. hand — in cards
  16. march — the month
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hand — help

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