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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. snap — to click
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. vault — a safe
  5. wax — to grow
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cold — not warm
  12. capital — money
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. capital — a city
  17. cue — a hint
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. capital — a big letter

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