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

Word bank: vault · leaves · chip · cell · pitch · perch · season · lie

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. season — of the year
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chip — to eat
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pitch — completely
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cell — in biology
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. perch — the fish
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. lie — to recline
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. season — in sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. chip — for betting

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