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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 120 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: net · vault · rule · prune · trunk · court · race · arm

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. rule — government
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. net — after costs
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. net — in sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. court — of a king
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. court — for sport
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. court — of law
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. race — humankind
  23. vault — a safe
  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