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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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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 · snap · date · rule · kid · capital · wax · arm

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rule — government
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. kid — to tease
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kid — child
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rule — a law
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wax — to grow
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to click
  24. date — on the calendar

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