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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
468
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: hand · wax · coach · toast · court · arm · vault · dip

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. court — for sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. vault — a safe
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. court — of a king
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. toast — bread
  16. court — of law
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wax — to grow
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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