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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: cold · coach · spell · fall · wax · kid · racket · jam

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wax — to grow
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — letters
  6. kid — to tease
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fall — the season
  13. cold — not warm
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spell — magic
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — child
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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