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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rest — what's left
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. roll — a list
  7. bound — tied together
  8. roll — a cake
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a tool
  11. snap — to click
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. row — a line
  19. file — a document
  20. rest — what's left
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bound — certain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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