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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. court — of law
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rule — a law
  5. cell — a phone
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — for sport
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cell — in biology
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — a video
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of a king
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. clip — for paper
  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