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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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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 · pit · bat · wax · wave · bowl · bark · tear

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pit — a hole
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. bark — to shout
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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