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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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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: coach · rash · band · wax · race · bark

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rash — a series
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. band — a music group
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. race — a contest
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wax — to grow
  17. band — a ring
  18. coach — a trainer

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