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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. staff — employees
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. season — of the year
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rush — hurry
  16. vault — a safe
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pit — in a race
  19. perch — the fish
  20. pit — a hole
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. staff — employees
  24. season — in sport

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