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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. perch — the fish
  3. rule — a law
  4. court — for sport
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rash — a series
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. court — of law
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mark — a trace
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. dip — to sink
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. mark — a grade
  24. court — of a king

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