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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: bore · face · coach · season · court · wax · bark · pass

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pass — a permit
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to confront
  7. court — of a king
  8. face — part of the head
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bore — to drill
  14. season — of the year
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. court — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. court — of law
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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