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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: vault · date · wound · snap · net · swing · patient · prune

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. vault — a safe
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. prune — to trim
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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