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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to tire
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. drill — army training
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. drill — the tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bark — to shout
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. club — a group
  24. prune — the fruit

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