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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: wax · swing · hand · land · tear · rock · coach · mark

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rock — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — help
  7. swing — to play on
  8. mark — a trace
  9. hand — in cards
  10. mark — a grade
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — ground
  13. tear — to rip
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. swing — music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — to move gently

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