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

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. roll — a list
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rule — a law
  8. pop — music
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. pop — to visit
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rule — government
  17. fine — high quality
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — soda
  21. roll — a cake
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. fine — all right

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