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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. clip — for paper
  3. shower — to wash
  4. perch — the fish
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. firm — a company
  7. vault — a safe
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. firm — decided
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. clip — to cut
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. firm — steady
  22. shower — rain
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — a video

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