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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: chair · coach · clip · wax · roll · can · field · pass

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. can — to be able to
  5. roll — a list
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — a permit
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. roll — a cake
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — a tin
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. can — a tin
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chair — a professorship

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