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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 116 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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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: vault · prune · land · drill · object · wound · club · mine

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — ground
  6. club — for dancing
  7. drill — army training
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. land — a country
  12. club — a group
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — to come down
  15. drill — the tool
  16. object — to protest
  17. prune — to trim
  18. object — an aim
  19. drill — a practice
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. club — for golf
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. vault — a safe
  24. prune — to trim

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