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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. vault — a safe
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. scale — in music
  4. wax — to grow
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. scale — size or range
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. capital — money
  9. tube — the underground
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wind — moving air
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. file — a document
  17. capital — a city
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. file — a tool
  23. fan — a supporter
  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