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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · rush · rule · kid · tear · perch

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. 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. rule — government
  2. kid — child
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rush — hurry
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rule — a law
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. 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