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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 120 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: chip · perch · wind · game · wax · arm · chair · spring

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wax — to grow
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. chip — to eat
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — of water
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chip — for betting
  24. perch — the fish

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