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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 120 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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. cell — in biology
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — ground
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. rule — a law
  14. last — finally
  15. last — final
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — to crush
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cell — a phone
  24. rule — government

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