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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — electric
  7. rule — a law
  8. court — for sport
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. rule — government
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. current — of water
  16. court — of law
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. court — of a king
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cell — in biology

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