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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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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: vault · fine · race · last · shower · prune · key · trunk

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. key — the most important part
  3. prune — to trim
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. key — in music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — the arms race
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — humankind
  16. fine — all right
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. last — finally
  19. vault — a safe
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. race — a contest
  23. key — for a lock
  24. last — to go on

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