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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: net · current · march · vault · trunk · lie · prune · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. march — music
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. lie — to recline
  7. current — electric
  8. current — of water
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. net — after costs
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. current — happening now
  19. vault — a safe
  20. march — the month
  21. last — finally
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lie — an untruth

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