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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rule — a law
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. ball — a dance
  10. pop — soda
  11. perch — the fish
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pop — music
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rule — government
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. march — music

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