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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: deal · track · cold · season · file · coach · wax · clip

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. file — a document
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — not warm
  5. track — to keep track
  6. clip — a video
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — for paper
  10. season — of the year
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. track — a song
  20. wax — to grow
  21. track — a path
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. clip — to cut
  24. season — in sport

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