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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: wind · wax · file · stock · swing · bear · charge · cold

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bear — the animal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. file — a tool
  10. charge — a price
  11. stock — shares
  12. charge — in control
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. swing — music
  19. charge — electricity
  20. stock — goods
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — not warm
  24. file — a document

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