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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. vault — a safe
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. land — a country
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. land — ground
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. last — final
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. staff — employees
  13. perch — the fish
  14. current — electric
  15. land — to come down
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — of water
  18. last — finally
  19. deal — to handle
  20. last — to go on
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. staff — employees
  24. current — happening now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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