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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. ground — a position
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chest — a box
  10. bat — the animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. staff — employees
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. vault — a safe
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. date — the fruit
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. staff — employees

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