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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. land — ground
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. land — to come down
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. roll — a list
  10. march — the month
  11. last — finally
  12. shower — to wash
  13. last — final
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. roll — a cake
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — a country
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — music
  22. rule — government
  23. date — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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