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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: row · face · straw · bat · pound · perch · mouse · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. row — a line
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pound — a weight
  8. face — to confront
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. rule — a law
  18. face — part of the head
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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