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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. charge — a price
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — to protest
  6. vault — a safe
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. object — a thing
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — the animal
  19. charge — electricity
  20. field — for sport
  21. land — a country
  22. clip — for paper
  23. field — a subject
  24. charge — in control

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