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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: wax · bore · sharp · racket · vault · hand · bat · kid

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. vault — a safe
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. kid — to tease
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bore — gave birth

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