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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. vault — a safe
  5. spell — letters
  6. perch — the fish
  7. staff — a stick
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. land — a country
  10. rest — what's left
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. prune — to trim
  13. staff — employees
  14. spell — a short time
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — farmland
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. perch — for a bird

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