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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: coach · pound · press · cold · track · rash · bank · wax

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — not warm
  9. press — a publisher
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — a path
  12. pound — a weight
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rash — a series
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bank — of a river
  22. press — to push
  23. rash — hasty
  24. 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