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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.

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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: bat · fan · squash · prune · present · hand · vault · drill

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. present — there
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. squash — the sport
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. present — a gift
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. present — the time now

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