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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: bay · last · season · wax · vault · face · land · toast

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. toast — bread
  3. last — final
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. last — finally
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — of the year
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. land — to come down
  15. vault — a safe
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wax — to grow
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. land — a country
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — to go on

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