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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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Word bank
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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. march — music
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wind — moving air
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. net — for catching
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — after costs
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. march — the month

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