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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: ground · wax · wake · roll · bear · kick · hand · swing

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. swing — to play on
  4. roll — a cake
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — in golf
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ground — a position
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. swing — music
  20. roll — a list
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. ground — crushed

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