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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: cue · spring · scale · can · swing · wax · land · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. land — to come down
  3. scale — in music
  4. land — ground
  5. swing — to play on
  6. land — a country
  7. cue — a signal
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. cue — a hint
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. can — a tin
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. can — a tin
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cue — for pool
  24. wax — to grow

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