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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 · suit · prune · wind · pitcher · dip · straw · fall

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. suit — clothes
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. dip — to sink
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. suit — in cards
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. fall — to drop
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. fall — the season
  19. vault — a safe
  20. suit — to fit
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. straw — dry grass

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