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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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 — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. vault — a safe
  15. rash — a series
  16. fall — the season
  17. rash — hasty
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — a grade
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. ball — a dance
  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