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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: mate · bat · spell · hide · temple · vault · court · wax

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. court — for sport
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — a partner
  13. court — of a king
  14. mate — a friend
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spell — a short time
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. court — of law
  24. bat — for baseball

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