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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 120 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: bay · wake · nail · wax · coach · cold · net · rule

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — a law
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. net — after costs
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wake — a trail
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. net — for catching
  19. rule — government
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. net — in sport
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cold — the Cold War

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