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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. suit — clothes
  12. land — a country
  13. bark — to shout
  14. sharp — clever
  15. suit — in cards
  16. rule — a law
  17. branch — a division
  18. row — a line
  19. rule — government
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. suit — to fit
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rule — to rule 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