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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 · pit · object · kick · vault · perch · sharp · file

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. object — to protest
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a line of people
  7. object — a thing
  8. face — part of the head
  9. kick — in football
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. object — an aim
  14. face — to point toward
  15. pit — in a race
  16. perch — the fish
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. sharp — clever
  22. vault — a safe
  23. file — a document
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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