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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · wax · vault · board · mine · shower · march · root

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. march — music
  3. root — the cause
  4. march — the month
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spring — the season
  7. board — to get on
  8. vault — a safe
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — rain
  14. board — a committee
  15. spring — of water
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — a coil
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. mine — for digging
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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