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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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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: wax · vault · cold · net · fall · march · mouse · chair

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. fall — the season
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. vault — a safe
  7. march — the month
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. march — the month
  13. fall — to drop
  14. net — for catching
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. chair — a leader
  22. march — music
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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