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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. key — the most important part
  4. scale — size or range
  5. row — a line
  6. rule — a law
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pound — a weight
  11. file — a tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. file — a document
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — in music
  19. row — to paddle
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. scale — in music
  24. row — a quarrel

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