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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: land · last · rest · hand · wax · squash · vault · stock

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. squash — the sport
  3. land — ground
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — in cards
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stock — goods
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — a country
  14. stock — shares
  15. last — final
  16. squash — to crush
  17. last — to go on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rest — a break
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hand — help
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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