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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. march — the month
  3. last — final
  4. bass — the fish
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bore — to tire
  9. shower — to wash
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. race — the arms race
  14. shower — rain
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. march — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. march — the month
  20. race — a contest
  21. bass — low music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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