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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. tube — the underground
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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