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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.

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: staff · wax · date · fall · cap · bore · coach · cold

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cold — an illness
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — the season
  10. bore — to drill
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cap — a hat
  17. staff — employees
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — of ice
  20. staff — employees
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cold — the Cold War

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