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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: net · staff · wax · kid · bear · bat · cell · vault

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — the animal
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cell — in biology
  5. net — for catching
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — in sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wax — to grow
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. net — after costs
  19. staff — employees
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bear — to put up with

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