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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: vault · cell · cue · wax · capital · perch · spring · stock

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. stock — goods
  6. spring — the season
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. spring — of water
  17. cell — a phone
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wax — to grow
  21. vault — a safe
  22. stock — shares
  23. cue — a signal
  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