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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: wound · date · chest · prune · vault · row · rash · plane

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. vault — a safe
  4. rash — hasty
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. plane — a tool
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chest — a box
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. row — a line
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. prune — to trim
  18. row — to paddle
  19. date — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — an injury

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