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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 120 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: prune · ball · game · tear · hand · fork · vault · staff

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hand — in cards
  3. game — wild animals
  4. staff — employees
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ball — a great time
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — a match
  9. tear — to rip
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. hand — help
  17. staff — employees
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. prune — to trim
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. tear — from crying
  24. prune — the fruit

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