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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. row — a line
  10. cell — a phone
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rule — a law
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — to eat
  19. kick — in football
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rule — government

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