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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. wax — in the ear
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wax — to grow
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. last — final
  10. present — a gift
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. cue — for pool
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. present — there
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — the time now
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. stem — to come from
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wind — moving air
  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