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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rule — a law
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a document
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bark — to shout
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. band — a ring
  20. chest — a box
  21. plane — a tool
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. chest — of your body
  24. jam — in traffic

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