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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 · straw · root · cold · wax · stick · hand · ball

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. vault — a safe
  8. hand — help
  9. ball — a dance
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. root — of a plant
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — an illness
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. cold — not warm
  19. root — of a word
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ball — a great time
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — a straw man

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