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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 120 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 room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. file — a tool
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rule — government
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a plant
  10. band — a ring
  11. file — a document
  12. band — a music group
  13. rule — a law
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. file — a line of people
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. chest — a box
  21. stand — to bear
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rule — to rule out

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