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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. press — to push
  4. scale — in music
  5. rule — government
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. press — newspapers
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. club — a group
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. club — for golf
  15. rule — a law
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. press — a publisher
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bat — in an idiom

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