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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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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. vault — a safe
  3. row — a line
  4. pop — music
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pop — soda
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. board — a committee
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. degree — from a university
  20. board — to get on
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lash — to lash out

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