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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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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: wax · hide · straw · board · vault · file · rule · date

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. file — a tool
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. vault — a safe
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. board — a committee
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. date — the fruit

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