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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — final
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. ground — crushed
  9. clip — to cut
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — a video
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bank — for money
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bank — for money
  18. ground — a position
  19. last — finally
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bank — of a river
  22. last — to go on
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wax — for sculpting

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