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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 120 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: mine · craft · pop · bat · band · scale · swing · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. swing — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a music group
  8. pop — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. pop — soda
  15. swing — to play on
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. craft — boats
  24. mine — for digging

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