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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. sharp — clever
  7. branch — a division
  8. hand — help
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rule — government
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. lean — to bend
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. lean — thin
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. hand — in cards
  24. branch — of a bank

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