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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: kick · race · wax · fall · cap · coach · land · suit

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cap — a hat
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wax — to grow
  5. race — the arms race
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. cap — of ice
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — ground
  12. suit — clothes
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. suit — in cards
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — a lid
  19. race — humankind
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. land — to come down
  22. kick — in football
  23. race — a contest
  24. suit — to fit

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