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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: face · perch · ground · fall · club · last · track · vault

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — the earth
  3. track — to keep track
  4. last — to go on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a song
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — crushed
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. last — final
  12. club — for dancing
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. face — to confront
  15. track — a path
  16. club — for golf
  17. perch — the fish
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — finally
  20. fall — the season
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. club — a group
  23. vault — a safe
  24. face — part of the head

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