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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: land · chest · cue · wax · bay · cell · vault · face

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. land — ground
  7. face — to confront
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. land — to come down
  10. cell — in biology
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cue — a signal
  15. land — a country
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cue — for pool
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chest — a box
  23. face — part of the head
  24. vault — a safe

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