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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. file — a document
  3. degree — temperature
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. rash — a series
  7. file — a line of people
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. vault — a safe
  13. degree — an amount
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — the fish
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. degree — from a university
  20. kick — in football
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. file — a tool
  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