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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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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: mark · march · cold · wax · chip · lean · plane · vault

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lean — to bend
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. march — music
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. chip — for betting
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — thin
  18. chip — to eat
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. plane — a tool
  21. vault — a safe
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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