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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: vault · squash · band · wax · cold · season · tube · spell

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. tube — the underground
  3. season — in sport
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — the sport
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tube — a container
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spell — a short time
  21. season — of the year
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spell — letters
  24. band — a rubber band

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