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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 116 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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. club — for golf
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — the amount
  7. mate — to breed
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. kid — to tease
  11. race — a contest
  12. rest — a break
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mate — a partner
  16. club — a group
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — a law
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — child
  22. rule — government
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — happy

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