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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: suit · vault · wax · bat · ground · mine · rush · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — for digging
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. suit — in cards
  5. suit — clothes
  6. ground — crushed
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. suit — to fit
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — a position
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. last — finally

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