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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 116 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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. current — happening now
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. scale — in music
  5. current — of water
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. court — of a king
  8. scale — size or range
  9. clip — to cut
  10. tube — a container
  11. current — electric
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. vault — a safe
  14. clip — for paper
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. clip — a video
  23. tube — the underground
  24. rule — government

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