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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: wound · wax · fall · vault · last · branch · charge · net

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. 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. fall — to drop
  2. charge — electricity
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. charge — in control
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. net — for catching
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. fall — the season
  17. charge — a price
  18. vault — a safe
  19. net — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wax — to grow
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. 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