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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: prune · staff · rest · vault · pass · mine · last · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. last — finally
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. staff — employees
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. rest — a break
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pass — a permit
  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