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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fine — all right
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. perch — the fish
  15. fine — high quality
  16. court — of law
  17. capital — money
  18. lean — to bend
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — for sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. capital — a city
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bowl — to roll

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