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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. rule — a law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rule — government
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pop — music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pop — to visit
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. hand — help

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