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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. perch — the fish
  3. pop — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. pop — to visit
  7. vault — a safe
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. chair — a leader
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pop — soda
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. shower — rain
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. shower — to wash
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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