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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · straw · scale · land · hand · vault

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — in gymnastics
  2. wax — to grow
  3. land — to come down
  4. scale — size or range
  5. vault — a safe
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — in cards
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. hand — help
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. scale — in music

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