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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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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: court · snap · fan · toast · kid · race · coach · wax

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. toast — bread
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. kid — child
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — of a king
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wax — to grow
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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