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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: patient · lash · wax · bat · pound · fall · march · coach

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pound — a weight
  20. march — the month
  21. bat — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — to grow

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