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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: file · mate · board · pitch · kid · prune · land · vault

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. file — a tool
  3. land — a country
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. file — a document
  10. land — to come down
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mate — a partner
  13. land — ground
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — to get on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — child
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. mate — to breed
  24. board — a committee

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