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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: ground · vault · pitcher · date · wax · tear · cell · court

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cell — in biology
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — of law
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. ground — a position
  19. court — of a king
  20. vault — a safe
  21. tear — from crying
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. court — for sport

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