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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. game — a match
  6. perch — the fish
  7. vault — a safe
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. squash — the sport
  11. clip — to cut
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — an illness
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — a video
  18. game — wild animals
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. last — final
  22. squash — to crush
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. last — finally

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