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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: mine · wax · hand · vault · ground · roll · season · mug

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — a list
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. season — of the year
  6. mug — a face
  7. ground — crushed
  8. hand — help
  9. mug — a cup
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mug — to rob
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. hand — in cards
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. season — in sport
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. wax — to grow
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. mine — for digging

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