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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: club · vault · racket · snap · prune · last · pass · tear

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. prune — to trim
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. last — final
  8. club — a group
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — to go on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. club — for dancing
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. vault — a safe
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. club — for golf

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