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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · bark · vault · leaves · mine · prune · shower · scale

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — for digging
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — rain
  5. vault — a safe
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. root — the cause
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. shower — to wash
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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