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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mate — a partner
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mate — a friend
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. rule — a law
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. date — the fruit
  14. perch — the fish
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mate — to breed
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. rash — a series
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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