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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 120 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: cold · mouse · pound · rest · wax · nail · coach · last

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. last — to go on
  10. cold — not warm
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rest — what's left
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rest — a break
  17. pound — a weight
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. last — finally
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — to grow
  24. last — final

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