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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — to crush
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. scale — in music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rule — government
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a list
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bark — to shout
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. squash — the sport
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. fall — the season

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