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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. rule — government
  7. perch — the fish
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for golf
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. club — for dancing
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rule — a law
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bat — in an idiom

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