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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. race — humankind
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. clip — to cut
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. vault — a safe
  10. plane — a tool
  11. tube — the underground
  12. perch — the fish
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. race — the arms race
  15. clip — for paper
  16. tube — a container
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stem — to come from
  20. clip — a video
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. plane — an aircraft

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