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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · clip · wax · bay · bear · coach

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — to grow
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. clip — a video
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. land — a country
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wax — in the ear

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