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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. clip — for paper
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. firm — steady
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. degree — from a university
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. clip — a video
  13. degree — an amount
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — decided
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. season — of the year
  18. vault — a safe
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. degree — temperature
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fork — in a road
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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