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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. mate — to breed
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. saw — the tool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. vault — a safe
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a friend
  14. perch — the fish
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mate — a partner
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. pitch — completely
  24. mine — an explosive

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