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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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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: wax · cell · chair · mark · vault · cold · pitch · patient

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mark — a trace
  8. vault — a safe
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. cell — in biology
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — a sports field

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