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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. rule — a law
  6. last — final
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — in football
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rule — government
  11. spring — of water
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. spring — the season
  15. chip — for betting
  16. march — the month
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. spring — a coil
  19. last — finally
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. chip — to eat
  22. march — music
  23. last — to go on
  24. perch — for a bird

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