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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 120 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: craft · chest · march · lean · swing · hand · wax · kick

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. kick — in football
  3. lean — to bend
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. swing — in golf
  6. hand — help
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wax — to grow
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. swing — to play on
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. craft — a skill
  17. march — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. craft — boats
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. march — the month

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