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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: pop · wake · ground · chest · capital · cue · wax · coach

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — the earth
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pop — soda
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wake — a trail
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — a position
  24. wake — before a funeral

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