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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: vault · wax · mate · prune · court · saw · last · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. court — of law
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. vault — a safe
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. mate — a friend
  9. last — finally
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mate — a partner
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. last — to go on
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — of a king
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. wax — to grow
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — for sport
  22. last — final
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. prune — to trim

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