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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rule — a law
  8. wound — an injury
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. board — to get on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. board — a committee
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. spring — the season
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rule — government
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. scale — in music
  24. last — finally

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