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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. rule — a law
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. ground — a position
  8. pitch — completely
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — of your body
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chest — a box
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. date — the fruit
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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