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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — all right
  10. season — in sport
  11. press — to push
  12. ground — the earth
  13. vault — a safe
  14. fine — high quality
  15. press — newspapers
  16. ground — a position
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — of the year
  19. bark — to shout
  20. press — a publisher
  21. present — the time now
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bark — of a tree

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