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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 · vault · bark · squash · bore · present · clip · rock

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. present — a gift
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rock — music
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bore — to tire
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. clip — a video
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — for paper

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