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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bank · face · bound · bay · cold · wax · coach · capital

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bank — for money
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bank — for money
  15. bound — obliged
  16. face — to confront
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — certain
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bank — of a river
  24. capital — money

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