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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. row — a line
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. perch — the fish
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. vault — a safe
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. staff — employees
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stem — to come from
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. row — to paddle
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. shower — rain
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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