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

Word bank: race · capital · arm · march · swing · foot · deal · wax

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. foot — a measure
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. capital — a city
  13. race — the arms race
  14. march — music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. capital — money
  18. race — a contest
  19. swing — music
  20. race — humankind
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — in golf
  24. foot — the bottom

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