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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: game · mug · wax · coach · wind · hand · swing · craft

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mug — to rob
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. swing — in golf
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — wild animals
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mug — a face
  14. hand — help
  15. swing — music
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. mug — a cup
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — in cards
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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