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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. land — a country
  4. plane — a tool
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rule — government
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. season — of the year
  11. rule — a law
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. prune — to trim
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. perch — the fish
  22. file — a document
  23. season — in sport
  24. plane — an aircraft

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