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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: swing · stock · lash · bowl · wax · cell · vault · game

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wax — to grow
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. game — a match
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cell — a phone
  9. vault — a safe
  10. stock — goods
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stock — shares
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. game — wild animals
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. swing — music
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. swing — to play on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. wax — in the ear

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