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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: wax · wound · vault · perch · cold · stock · field · fall

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stock — goods
  6. vault — a safe
  7. wound — an injury
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — to drop
  11. perch — the fish
  12. wax — to grow
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fall — the season
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. fall — to drop
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stock — a soup base

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