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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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. wake — a trail
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. last — to go on
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. rash — a series
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spell — magic
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. last — finally
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. last — final
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — letters
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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