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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · fan · cell · wax · coach · bear · content · cap

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. content — happy
  13. cap — a lid
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. content — videos and posts

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