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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — to shout
  4. ball — a great time
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mate — a friend
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — wild animals
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rule — a law
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — a contest
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bass — the fish
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. bass — low music
  20. game — a match
  21. mate — a partner
  22. race — humankind
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a dance

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