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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.

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: trunk · file · wind · coach · board · spell · wax · degree

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a document
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — magic
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. board — a committee
  19. spell — a short time
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — letters
  22. board — to get on
  23. degree — from a university
  24. file — a tool

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