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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 120 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: wax · field · file · arm · vault · wind · present · spell

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. spell — a short time
  3. field — for sport
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. spell — letters
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. spell — magic
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wax — to grow
  13. present — a gift
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. present — the time now
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. present — there
  19. field — a subject
  20. file — a document
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a tool
  23. arm — a part of something
  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