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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: wax · hand · roll · vault · season · rule · kid · capital

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. hand — help
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — in cards
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. rule — a law
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — in sport
  16. vault — a safe
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. capital — money
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. rule — government
  21. wax — to grow
  22. season — of the year
  23. rule — to rule out
  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