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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: mate · degree · wound · wax · arm · squash · wind · safe

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a partner
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mate — a friend
  15. degree — from a university
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wound — an injury
  20. squash — the sport
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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