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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wax · current · chest · wound · swing · bat · wave · roll

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bat — the animal
  3. roll — a cake
  4. swing — music
  5. roll — a list
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. current — of water
  17. chest — a box
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. current — happening now
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. chest — of your body
  24. current — electric

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