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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. board — to get on
  3. last — final
  4. roll — a cake
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. rule — government
  7. last — to go on
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. roll — a list
  11. wind — moving air
  12. board — a committee
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. rule — a law
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. last — finally
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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