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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: press · chest · prune · key · vault · bowl · rule · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. key — for a lock
  4. chest — a box
  5. key — in music
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. key — the most important part
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rule — government
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rule — a law
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. vault — a safe
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. press — newspapers

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