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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — a law
  5. fine — high quality
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fine — all right
  24. perch — for a bird

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