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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: craft · shower · cold · march · wax · suit · swing · coach

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. suit — to fit
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wax — to grow
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — boats
  21. shower — rain
  22. suit — in cards
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. suit — clothes

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