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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. land — to come down
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rule — government
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. present — there
  12. rule — a law
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — to drill
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. perch — the fish
  20. present — the time now
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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