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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cell — a phone
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — a division
  10. rule — government
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rule — a law
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. game — a match
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — to confront

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