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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.

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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: board · present · coach · mark · race · file · march · wax

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. march — the month
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — a trace
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a committee
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. race — a contest
  16. present — the time now
  17. march — the month
  18. race — the arms race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. march — music
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mark — a grade
  24. present — there

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