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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. spring — the season
  3. bass — the fish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. race — the arms race
  8. plane — a tool
  9. spring — of water
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. chest — a box
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. race — a contest
  17. lean — thin
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. vault — a safe
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bass — low music
  23. perch — the fish
  24. race — humankind

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