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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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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: vault · object · wind · game · patient · row · jam · wax

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. wind — moving air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. object — to protest
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wind — moving air
  12. object — an aim
  13. object — a thing
  14. wax — to grow
  15. row — a line
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. vault — a safe
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. row — to paddle

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