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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: court · hand · pass · wax · chest · ground · swing · pop

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pop — soda
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — a box
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — help
  9. swing — music
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. ground — a position
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. court — for sport
  17. pop — music
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — a permit
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — in golf
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — the earth

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