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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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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: vault · mine · rock · wax · race · track · kick · trunk

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. track — to keep track
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rock — music
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. race — humankind
  14. track — a song
  15. race — the arms race
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. vault — a safe
  18. race — a contest
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. kick — in football
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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