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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: squash · kid · hand · wax · bore · saw · can · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. kid — to tease
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. bore — to drill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hand — in cards
  14. can — a tin
  15. kid — child
  16. squash — the sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bore — to tire

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