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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. season — in sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — to go on
  14. vault — a safe
  15. wind — moving air
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wind — moving air
  19. last — finally
  20. wax — to grow
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. swing — in golf
  24. last — final

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