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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: wax · ball · land · fork · snap · cap · ground · vault

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a dance
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — a lid
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. land — ground
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wax — to grow
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. ground — a position
  16. land — to come down
  17. ground — crushed
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. ball — a great time
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. ground — the earth

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