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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wound — an injury
  12. vault — a safe
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. wound — an injury
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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