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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. board — a committee
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pass — a permit
  16. wax — to grow
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece

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