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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — of ice
  6. last — to go on
  7. cap — a hat
  8. last — final
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rash — a series
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — finally
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — a law
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chest — a box
  24. pound — a weight

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