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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 120 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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. rash — a series
  4. last — to go on
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. rash — hasty
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — final
  12. pit — in a race
  13. plane — a tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — finally
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. vault — a safe
  21. pit — a hole
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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