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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. perch — the fish
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stock — goods
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. charge — in control
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stock — shares
  15. charge — a price
  16. march — the month
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — music
  19. rule — government
  20. charge — electricity
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. march — the month
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bowl — a football final

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