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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. rule — government
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. row — to paddle
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. craft — boats
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. band — a ring
  9. craft — a skill
  10. row — a line
  11. stem — to come from
  12. perch — the fish
  13. band — a music group
  14. date — the fruit
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mine — for digging
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. perch — for a bird
  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