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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. march — music
  9. perch — the fish
  10. race — humankind
  11. land — ground
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. march — the month
  15. land — to come down
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. race — a contest
  19. roll — a cake
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. race — the arms race
  22. march — the month
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — on a roll

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