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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. last — final
  5. sharp — clever
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bound — tied together
  9. vault — a safe
  10. perch — the fish
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. race — a contest
  15. bound — obliged
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. race — the arms race
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — for sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bound — certain
  24. sharp — with an edge

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