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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: bore · land · last · field · saw · vault · prune · pitcher

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  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. prune — the fruit
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. land — to come down
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. vault — a safe
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bore — to drill
  15. land — ground
  16. bore — to tire
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. last — final
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  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