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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: swing · wax · cap · chair · charge · last · rush · scale

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. swing — to play on
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. cap — a lid
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — final
  18. cap — of ice
  19. swing — music
  20. last — to go on
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. charge — in control
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. scale — in music

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