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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: perch · face · cue · degree · vault · bat · row · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. craft — boats
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. degree — temperature
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — to confront
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — an amount
  16. face — to point toward
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. vault — a safe
  19. perch — the fish
  20. craft — a skill
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cue — for pool
  24. row — a line

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