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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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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: vault · kid · tear · fall · fork · spring · wax · cue

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. fork — in a road
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cue — a signal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. cue — for pool
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — child
  24. cue — a hint

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