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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. band — a ring
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pit — a hole
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. season — of the year
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wax — to grow
  20. snap — to click
  21. pit — in a race
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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