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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 120 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: prune · tear · mine · kid · squash · vault · bark · saw

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. prune — to trim
  4. tear — from crying
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. squash — to crush
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bark — to shout
  18. squash — the sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. mine — for digging
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — to rip

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