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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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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 · chair · tear · pitch · wax · prune

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. vault — a safe
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. tear — to rip
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. tear — from crying
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitch — a sports field

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