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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. land — a country
  11. object — to protest
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wax — to grow
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wake — a trail
  16. object — a thing
  17. ground — a position
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. object — an aim
  20. ground — the earth
  21. land — to come down
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — crushed
  24. land — ground

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