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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. perch — the fish
  5. spell — letters
  6. season — in sport
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. file — a document
  9. ball — a great time
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a tool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. file — a line of people
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spell — magic
  17. rule — a law
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. season — of the year
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ball — a dance

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