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

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. court — of law
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. clip — a video
  8. rule — a law
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. court — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. rule — government
  19. drill — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. fall — to drop

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