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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rash — a series
  3. ground — the earth
  4. firm — decided
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. rash — hasty
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. firm — a company
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — to shout
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rule — government
  16. last — final
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. firm — steady
  19. chest — a box
  20. ground — a position
  21. last — to go on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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