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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. fall — the season
  4. file — a tool
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. file — a document
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. rule — a law
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. perch — the fish
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. rule — government
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — to come down
  22. chair — a leader
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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