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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mine — for digging
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pop — music
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mate — to breed
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wax — in the ear

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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