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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: arm · bound · lean · object · hand · wound · kid · wax

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wound — an injury
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — child
  8. object — an aim
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. object — to protest
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lean — thin
  18. hand — in cards
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bound — obliged
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bound — certain

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