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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: vault · board · chest · prune · patient · spring · rest · perch

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. board — to get on
  3. board — a committee
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — what's left
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spring — of water
  9. vault — a safe
  10. spring — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spring — a coil
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chest — of your body
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rest — a break
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. chest — a box
  24. perch — for a bird

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