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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — a law
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — of your body
  8. rule — government
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chip — to eat
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. capital — money
  14. chip — for betting
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mate — a friend
  17. chest — a box
  18. lean — to bend
  19. capital — a city
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. lean — thin
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. lean — to rest against

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