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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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. game — a match
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — a container
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cap — a hat
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cap — a lid
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. tube — in a tire

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