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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. staff — employees
  6. rule — a law
  7. bark — to shout
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — final
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. rash — hasty
  14. last — to go on
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. nail — for a hammer

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