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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: game · swing · wave · chest · present · wax · ball · shower

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. swing — music
  4. chest — of your body
  5. present — a gift
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. game — a match
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. swing — in golf
  11. present — the time now
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — rain
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. swing — to play on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ball — a great time
  24. game — wild animals

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