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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. land — ground
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. rule — government
  9. cell — in biology
  10. perch — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — to rip
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. cell — a phone
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bulb — for light
  21. land — to come down
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bulb — of a plant

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