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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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Word bank
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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: wind · last · vault · game · bear · ball · prune · stem

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wind — moving air
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. last — finally
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. game — a match
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bear — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ball — a dance
  23. game — wild animals
  24. stem — of a plant

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