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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: cold · face · coach · chair · scale · last · stand · wax

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. scale — for weighing
  2. stand — to bear
  3. scale — in music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chair — a leader
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — to go on
  23. face — to confront
  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