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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: pound · vault · prune · wax · cue · bore · squash · wind

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bore — to drill
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bore — to tire
  7. vault — a safe
  8. cue — a signal
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cue — a hint
  11. pound — a weight
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cue — for pool
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. squash — the sport
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. prune — to trim
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wax — in the ear

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