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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. pop — soda
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — government
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. chair — a leader
  16. land — ground
  17. game — a match
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — to visit
  20. season — of the year
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. land — a country
  23. season — in sport
  24. game — wild animals

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