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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: vault · toast · root · bat · mate · wax · kid · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. root — of a word
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. root — the cause
  10. toast — bread
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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