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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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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: current · last · coach · march · deal · wax · cap · clip

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cap — of ice
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. current — happening now
  8. clip — to cut
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — to handle
  11. last — to go on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cap — a lid
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. current — electric
  18. last — finally
  19. cap — a hat
  20. clip — a video
  21. current — of water
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. wax — to grow
  24. march — music

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