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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. roll — a list
  3. bound — obliged
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a document
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rule — government
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kid — to tease
  11. file — a tool
  12. rule — a law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bound — certain
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — child
  20. rash — a series
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. rash — on the skin

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