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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: coach · swing · scale · hand · lean · game · cap · wax

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lean — to bend
  4. scale — in music
  5. lean — thin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — help
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wax — to grow
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — wild animals
  22. hand — in cards
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. swing — in golf

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