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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wax — to grow
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. capital — a city
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. capital — money
  19. vault — a safe
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. temple — a place of worship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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