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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 owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. face — part of the head
  4. perch — the fish
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. face — to confront
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pit — in a race
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bear — the animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bear — the animal
  23. face — to point toward
  24. cold — the Cold War

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