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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: vault · clip · wax · chest · key · plane · bay · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — a video
  5. wax — to grow
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — in music
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. key — for a lock
  15. clip — to cut
  16. plane — a tool
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chest — a box
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chest — of your body
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wax — in the ear

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