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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.

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: field · wind · stand · pop · swing · wax · plane · lean

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — to grow
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pop — music
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — soda
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stand — to bear
  9. swing — music
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. swing — in golf
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. lean — to bend
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — a subject
  21. lean — thin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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