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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rule — government
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. scale — in music
  9. fork — in a road
  10. degree — temperature
  11. pop — soda
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lean — to bend
  17. pop — music
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. scale — size or range
  24. degree — from a university

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