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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: march · spell · wax · hide · bat · kid · content · vault

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. spell — magic
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. march — the month
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spell — a short time
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. vault — a safe
  16. kid — child
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. content — happy
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spell — letters

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