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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. fine — all right
  3. perch — the fish
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. rock — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. fine — high quality
  10. snap — to click
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. clip — to cut
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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