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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 · bank · jam · tube · chest · row · wax · tear

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. tear — to rip
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chest — of your body
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — a safe
  17. row — a line
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. chest — a box
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. tube — a container
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — to grow

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