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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: field · shower · vault · pound · press · wax

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. press — a publisher
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — to push
  12. wax — to grow
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — in the ear

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