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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: rest · coach · cap · wax · row · drill · craft · straw

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cap — of ice
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. row — a line
  11. drill — army training
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. craft — a skill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cap — a hat
  19. craft — boats
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cap — a lid

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