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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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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: drill · wound · scale · swing · wind · wax · mark · pit

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a hole
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pit — in a race
  6. swing — music
  7. mark — a trace
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. drill — army training
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. drill — the tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. swing — in golf
  17. scale — in music
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. wax — to grow
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. swing — to play on

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