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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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Word bank
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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: wake · rule · leaves · perch · race · chip · ground · sharp

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. rule — government
  3. perch — the fish
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. race — a contest
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. race — humankind
  8. rule — a law
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. sharp — clever
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — to eat
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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