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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. vault — a safe
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bound — tied together
  19. lean — thin
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. spell — letters
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lean — to rest against

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