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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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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: fan · last · bay · prune · wake · court · straw · vault

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. last — finally
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. last — to go on
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. court — of a king
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. court — for sport
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. vault — a safe
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. prune — to trim
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. last — final
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. court — of law
  24. fan — a supporter

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