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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. wax — to grow
  3. key — the most important part
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. key — for a lock
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. track — a song
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. mine — for digging
  22. stand — to bear
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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