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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. bound — obliged
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — to cut
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rule — a law
  11. bear — the animal
  12. file — a tool
  13. bound — certain
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bound — tied together
  18. clip — a video
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rule — government
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. file — a document

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