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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: wave · fork · vault · race · mouse · rush · straw · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. vault — a safe
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rush — hurry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — in a road
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. fork — a garden tool

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