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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: wax · roll · rush · wind · cell · cold · swing · hide

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cell — in biology
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — moving air
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cold — an illness
  11. roll — a list
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. roll — a cake
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. swing — music
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — not warm

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