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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: pitcher · bat · vault · wax · cold · mate · drill · wound

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a friend
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wax — to grow
  7. drill — army training
  8. wound — an injury
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. vault — a safe

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