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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. track — a song
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. race — humankind
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. snap — to click
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a path
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. net — for catching
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wax — to grow
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. spell — letters

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