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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: last · bat · field · wax · content · vault · scale · fall

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — for sport
  5. content — happy
  6. last — finally
  7. scale — size or range
  8. vault — a safe
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. last — final
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. wax — to grow
  16. content — the amount
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — a subject
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. field — farmland
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. fall — the season
  24. bat — the animal

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