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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · clip · wax · net · band · calf · season · vault

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. calf — of the leg
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. net — after costs
  4. clip — a video
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. season — in sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. net — in sport
  12. rule — a law
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — for paper
  15. season — of the year
  16. net — for catching
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. season — to add flavour
  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