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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: chest · pitcher · prune · spring · ground · vault · staff · last

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spring — the season
  4. ground — a position
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. staff — employees
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — of water
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — final
  19. staff — employees
  20. vault — a safe
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. pitcher — a jug

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