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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 116 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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitch — completely
  3. present — a gift
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. present — there
  10. rule — a law
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. shower — rain
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — for digging
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — the time now
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. shower — to wash
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. ground — crushed

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