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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. march — music
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chair — a leader
  10. march — the month
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rule — government
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. content — happy
  19. rush — hurry
  20. content — the amount
  21. rule — a law
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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