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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. current — of water
  8. band — a ring
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a music group
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. current — electric
  14. vault — a safe
  15. land — ground
  16. perch — the fish
  17. land — a country
  18. row — a line
  19. current — happening now
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. row — to paddle

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