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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: wake · vault · content · kid · cell · bat · patient · wax

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kid — child
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — happy
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wax — to grow
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. vault — a safe
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in biology
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. kid — to tease

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