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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 120 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: root · vault · lie · wax · present · band · kick · bat

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. root — the cause
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. band — a music group
  6. kick — in football
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wax — to grow
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bat — the animal
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. root — of a word
  15. present — a gift
  16. band — a ring
  17. vault — a safe
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. present — there
  22. lie — to recline
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. present — the time now

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