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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rule — government
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bound — obliged
  11. chair — a leader
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. chip — for betting
  14. rule — a law
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bound — certain
  21. ground — crushed
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chair — a professorship

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