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

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mate — a partner
  3. vault — a safe
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mate — to breed
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. tear — from crying
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. mate — a friend
  19. drill — army training
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. prune — the fruit

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