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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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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: chest · rock · snap · race · wax · ruler · coach · band

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. band — a music group
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — humankind
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. snap — to click
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wax — to grow
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rock — a stone
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. band — a ring
  15. chest — a box
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rock — music
  23. chest — of your body
  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