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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: swing · wax · row · hand · file · plane · kick · wake

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wax — to grow
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. file — a tool
  6. wake — a trail
  7. file — a document
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — in golf
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. swing — to play on
  16. kick — in football
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. file — a line of people
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. row — a line
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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