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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 120 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 · kid · snap · sharp · staff · tear · wax · plane

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. staff — employees
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. staff — employees
  10. tear — to rip
  11. plane — a tool
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. staff — a stick
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. sharp — clever
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. wax — in the ear

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