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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: kid · bowl · club · bear · wax · spell · content · vault

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. kid — to tease
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spell — letters
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. kid — child
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — happy

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