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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 116 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: bear · chair · wind · kid · rule · perch · field · ball

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. field — a subject
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — a law
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rule — government
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. kid — to tease
  10. ball — a dance
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wind — moving air
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kid — child
  18. field — for sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chair — a professorship

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