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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. file — a line of people
  9. ball — a great time
  10. file — a tool
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. net — after costs
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. rule — a law
  16. net — for catching
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. file — a document
  20. branch — a division
  21. net — in sport
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. shower — rain

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