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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: bay · cold · vault · wax · bowl · scale · roll · field

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — not warm
  4. roll — a cake
  5. field — farmland
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — for sport
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. scale — size or range
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — a subject
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. roll — a list

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