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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: vault · wax · row · bass · jam · dip · wind · land

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — ground
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a line
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — to come down
  15. row — to paddle
  16. dip — to sink
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — to grow
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — the fish

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