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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. last — to go on
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — finally
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. vault — a safe
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. band — a music group
  15. last — final
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. drill — army training
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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