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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: coach · capital · drill · season · nail · face · wax · file

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. season — in sport
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. drill — a practice
  9. season — of the year
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. drill — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. face — to point toward
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — army training

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