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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: wax · wound · cell · swing · sharp · craft · kid · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — a phone
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kid — child
  9. craft — a skill
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — an injury
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. craft — boats
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kid — to tease
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wound — an injury

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