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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. mug — a face
  5. rule — a law
  6. rush — hurry
  7. mug — to rob
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — the earth
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — a position
  15. spell — a short time
  16. perch — the fish
  17. mug — a cup
  18. spell — magic
  19. wind — moving air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rule — government
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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