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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.

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: press · cold · vault · wax · club · bound · rash · pass

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cold — not warm
  13. press — newspapers
  14. club — for golf
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. rash — a series
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. rash — on the skin

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