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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 · bank · kid · tear · cold · season · current · wax

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — child
  3. cold — an illness
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — to tease
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — for money
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. season — in sport
  13. current — happening now
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bank — of a river
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bank — for money
  19. wax — to grow
  20. current — electric
  21. tear — to rip
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. current — of water
  24. wax — for sculpting

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