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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 120 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 · vault · cold · chair · trunk · mug · hide · row

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — not warm
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mug — a face
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. mug — a cup
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. chair — a leader
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. mug — to rob
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. row — a line
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wax — to grow
  24. vault — a safe

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