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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 · vault · ball · club · scale · tear · bear · clip

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. clip — for paper
  7. club — for dancing
  8. vault — a safe
  9. tear — from crying
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. scale — size or range
  14. clip — a video
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. club — a group
  17. scale — in music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ball — a dance
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. club — for golf
  23. ball — a great time
  24. scale — for weighing

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