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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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Word bank
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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 · degree · press · wound · vault · bore · lie · last

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. press — to push
  6. last — final
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. wound — an injury
  9. vault — a safe
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bore — to tire
  12. degree — from a university
  13. lie — to recline
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. last — finally
  18. press — a publisher
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. last — to go on

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