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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
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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: object · cold · field · band · present · vault · squash · wax

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. field — farmland
  4. vault — a safe
  5. object — an aim
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. object — to protest
  9. present — the time now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. present — a gift
  12. object — a thing
  13. present — there
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. field — a subject
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — to crush
  24. field — for sport

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