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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ground — crushed
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. rule — a law
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. net — for catching
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ground — a position
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. shower — to wash
  21. current — of water
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rule — government
  24. ground — the earth

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