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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: arm · bat · mark · wax · cell · stick · perch · rash

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bat — the animal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rash — a series
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. arm — a part of something

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