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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rule — a law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. court — of law
  6. dip — to sink
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rule — government
  9. ground — a position
  10. court — of a king
  11. land — a country
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. perch — the fish
  14. land — ground
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — bread
  21. court — for sport
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. land — to come down

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