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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: arm · vault · wound · scale · lie · perch · face · tear

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. tear — from crying
  4. face — to point toward
  5. vault — a safe
  6. scale — in music
  7. perch — the fish
  8. face — part of the head
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. lie — to recline
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wound — an injury
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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