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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. perch — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a city
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — a stone
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. rash — a series
  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