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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: coach · pass · rock · land · mine · wax · chest · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — a box
  5. land — ground
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pass — a permit
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. land — to come down
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — for digging
  16. rock — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. land — a country

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