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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: roll · wind · kick · rash · wax · dip · coach · spring

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rash — a series
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spring — of water
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. kick — in football
  14. spring — a coil
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. spring — the season
  18. rash — hasty
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — to sink
  21. wind — moving air
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. roll — a list

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