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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: prune · wound · stick · vault · spring · lash · capital · wake

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. spring — the season
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. capital — money
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — a trail
  22. vault — a safe
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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