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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. swing — music
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. vault — a safe
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mine — belonging to me

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