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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.

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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ground — a position
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pop — soda
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lean — to bend
  12. clip — for paper
  13. vault — a safe
  14. lean — thin
  15. pop — to visit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. swing — to play on
  18. perch — the fish
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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