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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: chest · mine · cold · board · stick · pop · wax · vault

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — music
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cold — an illness
  16. board — a committee
  17. pop — soda
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. vault — a safe
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. mine — belonging to me

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