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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. face — part of the head
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — to confront
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rule — a law
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rule — government
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a match
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. cell — a phone
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cell — in biology
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. game — wild animals
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. calf — a young animal

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