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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 · squash · bore · prune · spell · march · cold · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — a short time
  4. spell — letters
  5. squash — the sport
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. squash — to crush
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rest — a break
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spell — magic
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bore — to tire
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bore — to drill
  24. prune — the fruit

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