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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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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: vault · shower · perch · stem · prune · pit · last · cell

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. vault — a safe
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. last — final
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. prune — to trim
  9. shower — rain
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pit — in a race

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