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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: cold · net · prune · file · spring · ball · fall · vault

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. file — a tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a dance
  6. net — after costs
  7. fall — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. prune — to trim
  10. vault — a safe
  11. file — a document
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. net — in sport
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — the season
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — a coil

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