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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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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: pit · saw · swing · wax · wind · stand · cold · mark

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pit — a hole
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mark — a grade
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pit — in a race
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. stand — to bear

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