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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — to tease
  5. season — in sport
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — the tool
  9. snap — to click
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — child
  12. saw — the tool
  13. vault — a safe
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. season — of the year
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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