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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 116 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: mine · vault · wound · prune · wave · swing · scale · bat

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. vault — a safe
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. swing — in golf
  10. scale — in music
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. swing — music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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