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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — for paper
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — to go on
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. last — final
  7. game — a match
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — a trace
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. track — a path
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. perch — the fish
  17. last — finally
  18. track — a song
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. clip — a video
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. track — to keep track
  23. game — wild animals
  24. vault — a safe

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