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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: swing · wax · court · fan · cap · tear · leaves · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. court — of a king
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. club — for golf
  8. court — for sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. club — a group
  15. cap — of ice
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. swing — to play on
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. swing — music
  22. court — of law
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. fan — a supporter

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