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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. cell — in biology
  3. drill — army training
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. march — the month
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. band — a ring
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. cell — a phone
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rule — government
  15. pass — a permit
  16. band — a music group
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. perch — the fish
  21. drill — a practice
  22. root — the cause
  23. march — music
  24. rule — a law

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