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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bat — the animal
  4. tube — the underground
  5. cell — a phone
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. rule — government
  10. can — a tin
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rule — a law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. can — a tin
  15. rash — a series
  16. branch — a division
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. tube — a container
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. perch — the fish
  23. can — to be able to
  24. rule — to rule out

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