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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: ruler · vault · wind · swing · leaves · land · clip · prune

  1. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. vault — in gymnastics
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. vault — a safe
  4. swing — to play on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — for paper
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. clip — a video
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. swing — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. clip — to cut
  17. land — ground
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. land — a country
  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