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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. land — a country
  7. scale — size or range
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. object — an aim
  12. drill — a practice
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. vault — a safe
  15. bat — the animal
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. perch — the fish
  19. scale — in music
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. object — a thing
  22. land — to come down
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. land — ground

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