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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. land — to come down
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. march — music
  5. vault — a safe
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. board — a committee
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — for digging
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. land — ground
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. board — to get on
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. mine — an explosive

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