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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: vault · staff · face · rule · wax · degree

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — to grow
  4. staff — a stick
  5. face — to point toward
  6. staff — employees
  7. rule — government
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. degree — temperature
  13. staff — employees
  14. face — to confront
  15. vault — a safe
  16. rule — a law
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. face — part of the head

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