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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — the fish
  3. cap — a hat
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. rule — government
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tube — a container
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cap — of ice
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. chest — a box
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. chest — of your body

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