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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 · wax · band · fork · race · tear

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. race — a contest
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. vault — a safe
  5. race — humankind
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. wax — to grow
  9. tear — to rip
  10. fork — in a road
  11. race — the arms race
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  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