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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: rash · ball · bat · stem · wax · band · coach · sharp

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. band — a music group
  8. sharp — clever
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rash — hasty
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. band — a ring
  15. rash — a series
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. ball — a great time
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — exactly

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