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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: perch · staff · clip · vault · pop · land · fall · rest

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. staff — employees
  6. pop — music
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pop — soda
  11. fall — to drop
  12. staff — employees
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — to come down
  15. perch — the fish
  16. fall — the season
  17. pop — to visit
  18. staff — a stick
  19. vault — a safe
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. fall — to drop

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