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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a ring
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. rule — a law
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pit — a hole
  12. track — to keep track
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. capital — money
  19. track — a song
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. capital — a city
  23. squash — the sport
  24. band — a music group

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