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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. tear — from crying
  4. land — ground
  5. court — of law
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. land — a country
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. prune — to trim
  16. land — to come down
  17. tear — to rip
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. squash — the sport
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. prune — to trim
  22. court — of a king
  23. vault — a safe
  24. court — for sport

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