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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. march — music
  4. root — of a plant
  5. rule — a law
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. press — to push
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. spell — letters
  15. root — of a word
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. root — the cause
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bulb — for light
  20. march — the month
  21. press — a publisher
  22. spell — a short time
  23. press — newspapers
  24. march — the month

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