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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 116 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: prune · craft · band · scale · tear · last · trunk · vault

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — boats
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — final
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. prune — to trim
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. band — a music group
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. scale — in music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. band — a ring
  24. scale — size or range

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