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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.

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: cabinet · band · wound · wax · row · mate · game · swing

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. band — a music group
  18. swing — in golf
  19. row — a line
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mate — a friend
  24. band — a ring

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