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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: vault · season · clip · wax · capital · stand · wake · last

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. wake — a trail
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. season — of the year
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. last — final
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. last — finally
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. clip — for paper
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. clip — a video
  19. stand — to bear
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. clip — to cut

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