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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. spring — of water
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. rest — a break
  5. present — a gift
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. present — there
  8. rule — government
  9. spring — the season
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rest — what's left
  13. present — the time now
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — the earth
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. ground — a position
  19. spring — a coil
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rule — a law
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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