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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. prune — to trim
  3. vault — a safe
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stock — goods
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. prune — to trim
  24. field — a subject

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