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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: swing · fall · wave · tear · stock · wax · game · coach

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stock — goods
  7. wax — to grow
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. fall — to drop
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. game — a match
  17. swing — in golf
  18. fall — the season
  19. swing — music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stock — shares

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