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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.

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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: last · race · wax · cold · bowl · coach · court · ruler

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wax — to grow
  3. last — final
  4. race — humankind
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. court — of a king
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — finally
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. last — to go on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — of law
  22. cold — an illness
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wax — for sculpting

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