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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · ball · arm · rule · wax · row · press · field

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. press — newspapers
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — to grow
  13. press — a publisher
  14. ball — a great time
  15. rule — a law
  16. press — to push
  17. row — a line
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. field — a subject
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rule — government
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ball — a dance

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