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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. band — a ring
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. stem — to come from
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. date — the fruit
  10. rule — government
  11. perch — the fish
  12. band — a music group
  13. rule — a law
  14. row — a line
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. stem — of a plant

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