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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: bark · wax · coach · key · track · stand · mine · drill

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. key — for a lock
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. drill — army training
  6. key — in music
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. track — a path
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. track — a song
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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