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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. vault — a safe
  3. perch — the fish
  4. object — a thing
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. present — the time now
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — an amount
  11. object — an aim
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. present — a gift
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. object — to protest
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. chest — of your body
  22. present — there
  23. chest — a box
  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