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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 · land · bark · prune · tear · arm · kick · cue

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bark — to shout
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. tear — from crying
  9. vault — a safe
  10. land — ground
  11. cue — for pool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. land — to come down
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. kick — in football
  19. land — a country
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. tear — to rip
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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