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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cell — in biology
  3. vault — a safe
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cell — a phone
  10. net — after costs
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. game — wild animals
  15. clip — for paper
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. perch — the fish
  19. game — a match
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. clip — a video
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. clip — to cut

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