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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. season — in sport
  3. pop — soda
  4. rule — a law
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. fall — the season
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cell — a phone
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a document
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. season — of the year
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rule — government
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pop — music
  24. file — a tool

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