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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: last · prune · vault · mate · craft · track · chair · bowl

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. last — to go on
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. last — finally
  6. mate — to breed
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. prune — to trim
  9. craft — a skill
  10. track — a song
  11. mate — a friend
  12. vault — a safe
  13. track — a path
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. last — final
  17. chair — a leader
  18. craft — boats
  19. prune — to trim
  20. track — to keep track
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a partner
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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