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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — clever
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rule — government
  10. season — of the year
  11. perch — the fish
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pound — a weight
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. season — in sport
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rule — a law

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