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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.

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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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cue — for pool
  4. file — a document
  5. capital — a city
  6. firm — a company
  7. spell — magic
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spell — letters
  10. track — to keep track
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. cue — a signal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. firm — steady
  20. cue — a hint
  21. track — a path
  22. firm — decided
  23. wax — to grow
  24. coach — a trainer

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