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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. charge — a price
  4. squash — the sport
  5. rule — a law
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spring — the season
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. charge — in control
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. squash — to crush
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rule — government
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spring — of water

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