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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: deal · mark · wound · bat · arm · press · game · wax

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. press — a publisher
  9. deal — to handle
  10. mark — a trace
  11. press — to push
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bat — the animal
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. game — a match
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — wild animals

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