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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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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: cue · arm · prune · squash · land · vault · pop · row

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. land — a country
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cue — a hint
  9. land — to come down
  10. cue — a signal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. vault — a safe
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. row — a line
  15. pop — to visit
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. land — ground
  23. pop — soda
  24. cue — for pool

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