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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. cue — for pool
  3. object — to protest
  4. net — after costs
  5. rest — what's left
  6. object — an aim
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. land — to come down
  10. cue — a hint
  11. net — in sport
  12. rest — a break
  13. net — for catching
  14. land — a country
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bat — the animal
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rule — government
  20. object — a thing
  21. rule — a law
  22. land — ground
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rest — what's left

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