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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spell — letters
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. mine — for digging
  11. perch — the fish
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. can — a tin
  14. last — final
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. last — to go on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. can — to be able to
  23. vault — a safe
  24. can — a tin

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