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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · rock · arm · mark · wax · capital · pound · drill

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — a practice
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. capital — a city
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chest — a box
  17. drill — army training
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. drill — the tool
  21. capital — money
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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