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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 116 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: cold · wind · wax · charge · object · bass · chair · swing

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — an aim
  9. wax — to grow
  10. charge — a price
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. swing — in golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. charge — in control
  17. swing — music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. object — to protest
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bass — the fish

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