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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: cell · wax · wind · arm · pitcher · fine · last · row

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — to go on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fine — all right
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fine — high quality
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — final
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wax — to grow
  21. last — finally
  22. row — a line
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wax — for sculpting

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