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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 116 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: coach · wind · net · march · chair · rest · object · wax

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rest — what's left
  3. object — an aim
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wind — moving air
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. net — after costs
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. object — a thing
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. march — music
  21. object — to protest
  22. rest — a break
  23. march — the month
  24. net — in sport

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