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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 120 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: land · swing · object · wax · cold · rash · face · staff

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wax — to grow
  3. object — an aim
  4. rash — hasty
  5. face — to point toward
  6. cold — not warm
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — in golf
  9. land — to come down
  10. rash — a series
  11. staff — a stick
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — to play on
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. swing — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. face — part of the head
  20. object — a thing
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — on the skin

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