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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: tear · vault · prune · bowl · key · snap · drill · march

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. key — for a lock
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. key — the most important part
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. drill — army training
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to click
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. key — in music
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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