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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: calf · wax · vault · wound · rash · tear · clip · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. clip — for paper
  9. vault — a safe
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. clip — a video
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wake — a trail
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — from crying
  21. clip — to cut
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — a series
  24. wound — an injury

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