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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · patient · prune · file · vault · lash · club · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — to trim
  3. vault — a safe
  4. game — a match
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. club — a group
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. club — for dancing
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. file — a tool
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. game — wild animals
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a line of people
  23. club — for golf
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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