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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  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 — to rule out
  2. pop — to visit
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — for sport
  14. pop — soda
  15. field — farmland
  16. race — the arms race
  17. rule — government
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pop — music
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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