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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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. land — to come down
  4. fine — all right
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. land — ground
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. present — there
  13. content — the amount
  14. present — the time now
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. land — a country
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. fine — high quality
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. drill — army training
  23. present — a gift
  24. prune — to trim

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