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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: row · vault · toast · dip · club · capital · wax · saw

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. club — for dancing
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. row — a line
  6. wax — to grow
  7. dip — to sink
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — a group
  10. capital — a city
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. vault — a safe
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. toast — bread
  18. club — for golf
  19. row — to paddle
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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