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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: race · bat · wax · pitch · cap · bound · coach · row

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — a line
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bound — tied together
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. bound — certain
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bat — the animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cap — a hat

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