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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. vault — a safe
  5. row — to paddle
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. band — a ring
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. row — a quarrel

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