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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. prune — to trim
  3. shower — rain
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. wax — to grow
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. ball — a great time
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitch — completely
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. net — for catching
  23. fork — in a road
  24. vault — a safe

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