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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 120 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: wake · wax · wind · bear · net · game · vault · tube

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — wild animals
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. game — a match
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. bear — the animal
  16. net — in sport
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wax — to grow
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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