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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · game · snap · prune · temple · march · vault · branch

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. branch — a division
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. prune — to trim
  7. game — wild animals
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — child
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. march — the month
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. march — music
  23. snap — to click
  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