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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 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. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. can — a tin
  7. band — a ring
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. can — to be able to
  13. game — a match
  14. mate — a friend
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. band — a music group
  19. mate — a partner
  20. can — a tin
  21. root — of a word
  22. game — wild animals
  23. vault — a safe
  24. root — the cause

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