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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.

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: swing · game · bear · pit · land · wax · chest · rash

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pit — a hole
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pit — in a race
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. swing — in golf
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. swing — music
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. game — a match
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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