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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cap — a hat
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. vault — a safe
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a match
  11. game — wild animals
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cap — of ice
  14. file — a tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. mine — for digging
  18. club — a group
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. club — for golf
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. rock — music
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. file — a document

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