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

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. field — for sport
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tube — a container
  18. stock — shares
  19. tube — the underground
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cold — an illness

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