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

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mug — to rob
  5. kick — in football
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mug — a cup
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. perch — the fish
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tube — a container
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rule — a law
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. mug — a face
  18. rule — government

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