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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. net — after costs
  3. ground — a position
  4. perch — the fish
  5. net — in sport
  6. lean — to bend
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cue — a signal
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. lean — thin
  12. cue — for pool
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. net — for catching
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cue — a hint
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. vault — a safe
  21. ground — the earth
  22. clip — a video
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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