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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 116 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: stick · kid · wax · vault · pop · bat · fall · face

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. kid — to tease
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. face — to confront
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. fall — to drop
  12. face — part of the head
  13. vault — a safe
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fall — the season
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. kid — child

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