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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 ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. club — for golf
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — from a university
  6. saw — the tool
  7. perch — the fish
  8. content — happy
  9. degree — an amount
  10. vault — a safe
  11. season — of the year
  12. lie — to recline
  13. content — the amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. saw — the tool
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. season — in sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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