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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: trunk · patient · bear · hand · vault · wax · content · roll

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bear — the animal
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. hand — help
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wax — to grow
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. roll — a list
  15. hand — in cards
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. content — the amount
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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