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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: rush · bound · cold · prune · vault · fan · present · net

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. prune — to trim
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. present — a gift
  13. net — after costs
  14. present — the time now
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. present — there
  17. bound — certain
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. vault — a safe
  21. net — for catching
  22. bound — tied together
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. net — in sport

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