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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. vault — a safe
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. race — a contest
  6. bound — certain
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bound — tied together
  9. race — the arms race
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. date — the fruit
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. race — humankind
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bound — obliged
  22. rash — a series
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chair — a leader

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