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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 124 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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mine — for digging
  4. vault — a safe
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chest — of your body
  10. snap — to click
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. pop — soda
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. perch — the fish
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pop — to visit
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. season — of the year
  20. chest — a box
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pop — music
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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