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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. object — to protest
  3. perch — the fish
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. land — to come down
  11. clip — a video
  12. stock — goods
  13. object — a thing
  14. bat — the animal
  15. land — a country
  16. vault — a safe
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — to cut
  19. object — an aim
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stock — shares
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. perch — for a bird
  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