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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · game · plane · wax · track · coach · straw · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. track — to keep track
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. track — a path
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. game — wild animals
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — to grow
  14. dip — to sink
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cold — not warm
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. track — a song
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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