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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. perch — the fish
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rule — a law
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. march — music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — government
  18. march — the month

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