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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — a law
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — to come down
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. branch — a division
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. land — ground
  16. rule — government
  17. bark — to shout
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pit — in a race
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. land — a country

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