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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 116 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: march · rash · wax · face · game · swing

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. face — to point toward
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. game — a match
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. swing — to play on
  14. face — to confront
  15. rash — hasty
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. game — a kind of play

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