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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — the season
  9. rash — hasty
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. rule — government
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spell — letters
  14. deal — to handle
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bark — to shout
  19. row — a line
  20. spring — of water
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spell — magic
  24. season — in sport

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