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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: mine · chest · coach · board · wax · capital · degree · present

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. present — the time now
  4. board — a committee
  5. chest — of your body
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. present — a gift
  11. mine — for digging
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. present — there
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. capital — money
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. capital — a city
  21. chest — a box
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — of your body
  24. board — to get on

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