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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: toast · coach · wax · pitcher · rash · clip · bowl · season

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — in sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. rash — a series
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. season — of the year
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. toast — bread
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — to cut

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