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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 116 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: march · rash · wax · face · game · swing · prune · present

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. present — the time now
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. march — the month
  11. game — a match
  12. present — a gift
  13. swing — to play on
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — part of the head
  16. present — there
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. march — music
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — to grow
  24. swing — 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