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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · capital · spring · vault · fall · face · kid · fan

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fall — the season
  7. kid — child
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — a city
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. face — to point toward
  17. capital — money
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. face — to confront
  24. spring — a coil

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