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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rule — a law
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. club — for dancing
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rest — a break
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rest — what's left
  20. club — a group
  21. face — to confront
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rule — government
  24. hand — part of the body

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