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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. row — a line
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mug — a face
  5. rule — government
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cell — in biology
  8. rule — a law
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mug — to rob
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — to trim
  16. perch — the fish
  17. snap — to click
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mug — a cup
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. shower — to wash
  23. row — to paddle
  24. shower — rain

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