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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: coach · club · fork · shower · race · kid · wax · scale

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. scale — size or range
  10. race — humankind
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — rain
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. race — the arms race
  16. club — a group
  17. race — a contest
  18. shower — to wash
  19. club — for dancing
  20. club — for golf
  21. wax — to grow
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. coach — a trainer

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