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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. last — final
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rule — a law
  6. bark — to shout
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. scale — size or range
  13. last — finally
  14. rule — government
  15. sharp — clever
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. court — of a king
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — a position
  22. court — for sport
  23. scale — in music
  24. ground — crushed

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