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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: trunk · kid · season · date · vault · pound · wax · content

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. season — of the year
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wax — to grow
  9. season — in sport
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. vault — a safe
  13. date — the fruit
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pound — a weight
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. content — the amount
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. content — happy
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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