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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 · hand · pitcher · field · mine · wax · coach · bay

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. hand — help
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. field — for sport
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mine — for digging
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. field — a subject
  21. wax — to grow
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. field — farmland
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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