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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. board — to get on
  4. field — for sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. field — a subject
  7. staff — a stick
  8. mine — for digging
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. staff — employees
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rule — government
  17. staff — employees
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — thin
  22. lean — to bend
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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