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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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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: wind · wax · tube · vault · bear · field · degree · wound

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. tube — a container
  3. bear — the animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tube — the underground
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. field — farmland
  9. wind — moving air
  10. degree — temperature
  11. vault — a safe
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — a subject
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. field — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wind — to turn a key

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