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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: racket · cold · file · wax · stick · spell · kid · vault

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. cold — an illness
  5. file — a document
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. file — a tool
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. spell — a short time
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. kid — child
  19. wax — to grow
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spell — magic
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cold — not warm
  24. vault — a safe

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