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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. game — a match
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — wild animals
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. prune — to trim
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. file — a document
  16. prune — to trim
  17. deal — to handle
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a tool
  21. wake — a trail
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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