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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rule — a law
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. content — happy
  9. rash — a series
  10. press — to push
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the fish
  15. press — newspapers
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. content — the amount
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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