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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: hide · wax · vault · file · ground · field · drill · coach

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. ground — crushed
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. field — farmland
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a document
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. field — for sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wax — to grow
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — the tool

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