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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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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: wind · chair · bear · prune · shower · vault · season · squash

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. vault — a safe
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bear — the animal
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. squash — the sport
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — rain
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. shower — to wash
  20. squash — to crush
  21. season — of the year
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — to trim

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