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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. track — a path
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. vault — a safe
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. track — to keep track
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. staff — employees
  12. court — for sport
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. game — wild animals
  16. track — a song
  17. court — of law
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — the fish
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — of a king
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — money

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