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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
468
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: march · degree · leaves · tube · wax · vault · rash · spring

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. tube — a container
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. rash — hasty
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. degree — from a university
  8. spring — of water
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — a coil
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. tube — the underground
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — the season
  15. vault — a safe
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. rash — a series
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. march — music
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. degree — temperature

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