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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 116 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: vault · trunk · wax · snap · file · wind · race · kid

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. vault — a safe
  4. file — a line of people
  5. kid — child
  6. file — a tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. race — a contest
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. race — humankind
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. snap — to click
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a document
  24. race — the arms race

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