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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. can — a tin
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. roll — a list
  7. game — a match
  8. net — in sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rule — government
  12. can — a tin
  13. net — for catching
  14. game — wild animals
  15. kid — child
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. chair — a leader
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. roll — a cake
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. net — after costs
  24. can — to be able to

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