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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 116 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: snap · prune · vault · present · bark · cap · wind · bore

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — to shout
  3. prune — to trim
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — a hat
  7. wind — moving air
  8. present — a gift
  9. bore — to tire
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bore — to drill
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. prune — to trim
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wind — moving air

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