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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. scale — in music
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. scale — size or range
  10. charge — in control
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. charge — electricity
  17. bark — to shout
  18. charge — a price
  19. rule — government
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. lash — to lash out

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