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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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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 · land · bowl · spring · kid · racket · vault · bank

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bank — of a river
  12. spring — the season
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bank — for money
  17. kid — child
  18. bank — for money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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