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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: arm · trunk · game · court · kid · vault · wax · stem

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. court — of law
  6. kid — child
  7. stem — to come from
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wax — to grow
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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