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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: vault · stock · perch · swing · bound · ground · land · clip

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. land — to come down
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bound — certain
  7. ground — the earth
  8. clip — a video
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stock — shares
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — ground
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — to cut
  16. stock — goods
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — a safe
  19. perch — the fish
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. swing — in golf
  22. land — a country
  23. bound — obliged
  24. clip — for paper

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